Rep. Liz Cheney responded to reports that former President Donald Trump told several of his aides he would not leave the White House after his 2020 loss, noting it “affirms the reality of the danger” of his presidency.
In the days and weeks after the 2020 election was called in favor of President Joe Biden, Trump repeatedly told his aides that he wouldn’t leave the White House despite his loss, according to a new book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Although some people may say that reports of Trump’s behavior following the election are not a “big deal” because the Supreme Court would have eventually upheld the election results, it is dangerous to overlook his sentiments, Cheney said during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
‘WE’RE NEVER LEAVING’: TRUMP VOWED TO STAY IN OFFICE DESPITE ELECTION LOSS, BOOK REVEALS
“You have to ask yourself, ‘But who would have enforced the rulings of the court?’ And if you have a president who’s refusing to leave the White House or who’s saying he refuses to leave the White House, then anyone who sort of stands aside and says someone else will handle it is themselves putting the nation at risk,” Cheney said.
After the presidential race was called in favor of Biden, Trump seemed to acknowledge he had lost, according to the forthcoming book Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. However, as time went on, Trump’s mood seemed to shift as he began abruptly telling aides he would not leave the White House.
“I’m just not going to leave,” Trump said to one aide, telling another, “We’re never leaving. How can you leave when you won an election?”
The previously unreported details offer a glimpse into the chaos at the White House after the 2020 election when Trump began seeking ways to overturn the results of the election and remain in office. The revelations come as the former president is the subject of several investigations into his efforts to undermine the 2020 election.
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Those efforts have especially been scrutinized by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack as lawmakers seek to draw a connection between his efforts and the Capitol riot. The committee held several public hearings over the summer, and lawmakers are set to reconvene later this month and publish its final report this fall.
Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America is set to be released on Oct. 4.
