Reuters
Published May 03, 2021 02:04PM ET
Updated May 03, 2021 05:10PM ET
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday said former President Donald Trump was "poisoning our democratic system" with his persistent false claims that his November election defeat was the result of fraud.
U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and a Trump critic, assailed him in a tweet, risking further raising the ire of the former president's allies in their Republican Party.
"The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system," Cheney tweeted without mentioning Trump by name.
But earlier on Monday, Trump in a statement appeared to be trying to redefine the term "the big lie," adopted by his critics, in the way he commandeered the phrase "fake news" during his presidency.
"The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!" Trump said.
President Joe Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 million votes, and Trump's claims of fraud at the time were repeatedly rejected by courts and state and federal election authorities.
Opinion polls show large numbers of Republican voters accept Trump's claims of fraud, which helped spark the deadly Jan. 6 riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, an unsuccessful attempt to stop the certification of Biden's victory.
Six in 10 Republicans also believe Trump's false claim the election was stolen and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in March.
Cheney survived an effort by Trump allies to oust her as House Republican Conference chairwoman this year after joining nine other House Republicans to vote for his impeachment on Jan. 13.
"PREDICTION: she'll be out of her GOP leadership role by month’s end!" Texas Republican Lance Gooden tweeted over the weekend. Other Republicans have risen to Cheney's defense, including Senator Susan Collins.
Americans may be hearing much more from Trump this week, if Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) on Wednesday decides to lift a suspension of his account put in place after the Capitol riot.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.