Former GOP congresswoman Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) swiped at Donald Trump while praising the new pope.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, of Chicago, who holds both American and Peruvian citizenship, was elected on the second day of the Conclave as a successor to Pope Francis who died on April 21 at age 88. Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Though Cheney did not explicitly name Trump in her statement praising the new pope, it was pretty clear who she was referring to as a cruel and corrupt “American man”.
“In an era that looked as if it might be defined by an American man of depraved cruelty, corruption, and shame, what a magnificent thing the Catholic Church has done,” she wrote. “The elevation of an American man of goodness, grace, humility, mercy, and faith to the Throne of St. Peter is moving and momentous for us all.”
Cheney, a former member of House Republican leadership, drew the ire of Trump after she criticized him in the wake of his loss in the 2020 election as he promoted false claims that the election was rigged.
Cheney was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and was one of two House Republicans who served on the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the riot.
Trump retaliated by endorsing a primary challenger who ended up defeating Cheney in the GOP contest.
Before leaving office President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Cheney and other members of the Jan. 6 committee after Trump repeatedly said they should be jailed for investigating the attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
