Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

by Liz Cheney

Jordan did make a memorable pitch to me to join the group, though. It went something like this: “Would you consider joining the Freedom Caucus? We don’t have any women, and we need one.” Tempting as this offer was, I took a pass.

The president’s statement now, in my view, was completely inadequate. What he has done, what he has caused here, is something we’ve never seen before in our history. It has been 245 years and no president has ever failed to concede—to agree

to leave office after the Electoral College has voted. What we are seeing today is a result of convincing people that somehow Congress was going to overturn the results of this election, a result of suggesting he wouldn’t leave office. Those are very, very dangerous things. This will be remembered. This will be part of his legacy, and it is a dangerous moment for our country.

Terrorists couldn’t shake the foundations of our republic, but what if an American president refused to guarantee the peaceful transition of power? What if he attempted to overturn an election in order to stay in power, ignored the rulings of the courts, mobilized a violent mob, and provoked them to attack and invade the Capitol? An American president willing to do those things was a threat unlike any we had ever faced before—a direct threat to the foundations of our republic.