BREAKING: Former President Donald Trump Goes After U.S. Representative Liz Cheney Calling Her “Worse Than Any Democrat”

According to three individuals familiar with Trump’s intentions, he is expected to support Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman as she prepares a primary fight against GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, marking the most significant political endorsement in Trump’s post-presidency.

Trump’s impending primary involvement will put his political influence in the GOP to the test like never before, as he aims to punish the most prominent House Republican who voted for his impeachment in January.

His supporters and staff not only urged Hageman to run against Cheney, but they are now under pressure to clear the crowded primary field of other candidates who may divide anti-Cheney sentiment, giving the incumbent the potential to win with merely a majority of the vote.

After speaking out against his part in sparking the Jan. 6 Capitol violence, Cheney became Trump’s top Republican target. House Republicans quickly demoted her, and one of Trump’s sons and a close Trump associate have already campaigned against her in Wyoming.

2021-05-17 Cheney on the GOP’s direction: ‘Dangerous’ (236952) Simultaneously, Trump plunged himself into the process of evaluating and interviewing various individuals who are running or considering running against Cheney, with the objective of naming a single contender. According to sources familiar with his plans, he ultimately picked Hageman because she pleased him the most.

Hageman resigned as a member of the Republican National Committee from Wyoming on Tuesday, the penultimate step before formally launching her campaign later this week. “By censureing Rep. Liz Cheney, we sent a clear message to our elected leaders that we want them to respect the opinions and values of the people who elected them.”

“I am proud of our party for demanding accountability,” Hageman stated in her resignation letter. Hageman isn’t just counting on Trump’s support in the upcoming primary against Cheney: she also has top Trump employees and friends on her side, including those who are in discussions to join her campaign or work for a super PAC that would back her.

In March, Hageman met with some former Trump campaign staffers and advisers at the request of local conservatives. Trump’s endorsement announcement might come at any time, but insiders say he has already assured Hageman of his support.

“He interviewed a lot of individuals, and when it was all said and done, it was evident she was in a class by herself,” said a Republican involved with Trump’s selection process who wasn’t permitted to talk publicly about his choice. Aside from her Trump ties, Hageman’s qualifications include being a fourth-generation Wyomingite who grew up on a ranch before becoming a conservative activist and top land-use attorney in a state where land is a political issue.

Her tough-talking governor’s campaign in 2018 made her a conservative favorite, despite finishing third in a crowded primary. Nonetheless, Hageman became one of Cheney’s only plausible competitors who had previously run for governor of Wyoming.

Cheney’s buddy at the time, and in the years before, was Hageman. She donated to Cheney’s prior campaigns, was on the congresswoman’s leadership team, and had a photo of the two of them together on Hageman’s website as of Tuesday night. When Trump interviewed Hageman as part of his endorsement screening process, the subject of her acquaintance with Cheney came up.

Wyoming, on the other hand, was the reddest of Trump’s states in the two general elections that followed. He won it by 43 percentage points, the largest margin of any state he has won. Some Cheney supporters refer to Trump’s loss in the state’s caucuses in 2016 as proof that he doesn’t have an iron hold on the state.

Two years later, his last-minute endorsement of billionaire Foster Friess wasn’t enough to get him over the finish line in the primary against now-Gov. Mark Gordon, which Hageman finished third in. In contrast to the congressional election, Trump devoted little attention to the 2018 gubernatorial election. His endorsement of Friess was primarily restricted to a tweet on Election Day.

Boyd Wiggam, an attorney who campaigned for Cheyenne City Council, believes Cheney can overcome Trump’s endorsement of Hageman, adding that “Wyoming is the type of area where folks don’t want outsiders telling them what to do.”

And her reluctance to back down from calling out Trump for lying about the election results, as well as her choice to rebuke Trump for his part in fueling the Capitol riots, might play well in a state with an independent streak, according to Wiggam. Still, Wiggam believes Cheney would struggle against Hageman, who is “extremely educated and obviously a Wyoming person.” If you want to see a rough-and-tumble political war, Rep. Cheney and Rep. Hageman would be the ones to watch.”