Liz Cheney hits Ronna McDaniel over ‘take one for the team’ remark

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) took aim at former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel after McDaniel defended her involvement in former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Ronna facilitated Trump’s corrupt fake elector plot & his effort to pressure MI [Michigan] officials not to certify the legitimate election outcome,” Cheney wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“She spread his lies & called 1/6 ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Cheney continued, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. “That’s not ‘taking one for the team.’ It’s enabling criminality & depravity.”

Cheney’s harsh criticism comes in response to McDaniel’s “Meet the Press” interview Sunday on NBC News, where she was recently hired as a paid contributor — soon after she stepped down as chair of the RNC amid pressure from party figures.

McDaniel, in the Sunday interview, faced questions about her past comments related to Jan. 6 and distanced herself slightly from Trump, who has called those imprisoned for actions related to the Jan. 6 attack “patriots” and pledged to pardon them if he gets reelected in November.

“If you attacked our Capitol … and you’ve been convicted, then that should stay,” McDaniel said when asked about Trump’s promise.

McDaniel said, when pressed by NBC’s Kristen Welker, that she is only now voicing her disagreement because she didn’t want to disagree with the former president while heading the RNC.

“When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team,” she said. “Right now, I get to be a little bit more myself. This is what I believe.” 

Cheney joins a chorus of critics taking aim at NBC News for its decision to hire McDaniel.

“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said in their Monday broadcast that McDaniel would not be asked to appear on their show as a guest and called on NBC News to reconsider its decision to hire the former Trump ally.

“To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said.

“And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor,” Brzezinski added.

The Hill has reached out to NBC News for comment.