Graduates captivate and turn away from former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney as she gives a speech

Graduates booed and turned their chairs away from former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney as she delivered the commencement speech at Colorado College on Sunday.

Cheney reiterated her fierce criticism of former President Trump, but did not discuss his 2024 reelection campaign or her own political future.

The Wyoming-based Republican has slammed her Republican colleagues in the House for not doing enough to fight Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Cheney begged the new graduates not to compromise when it comes to truth and berated one of the election-denying lawyers who worked for Trump after the election for allegedly telling a gathering of Republicans that “it’s critical to make sure make sure university students don’t vote.’

While many students and parents in the audience applauded Cheney’s remarks, some who opposed Cheney’s choice of speaker booed and turned their chairs away from the stage when she spoke.

A Cheney graduate’s message was splashed on her cap. It read, ‘Why listen to a racist, imperialist, transphobic, warmonger? Your hatred is loud.’

Cheney’s speech touched on themes similar to those she has promoted since leaving office in January: She spoke of her work on the House committee investigating and facing the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol to the threat she believes Trump poses to democracy.

She also encouraged more women to run for office and denounced one of the election-denying lawyers who worked for Trump after the 2020 election for recent comments about student voting.

Cleta Mitchell, an election denier and adviser to former President Trump, recently told a gathering of Republicans that getting students not to vote is critical, Cheney said.

“Those who try to unravel the foundations of our republic, who threaten the rule of law and the sanctity of our elections, know they cannot succeed if you vote.”

In an audio recording of Mitchell’s presentation from a recent Republican National Committee retreat, she warns of college campus polling stations and the ease of voting as potential problems. reported the Washington Post.

Cheney, who graduated from Colorado College in 1988, recalled walking into a campus building as a political science student whose entrance was inscribed with a Bible verse that read, “Thou shalt know the truth, and the truth shall set thee free.”

“After the 2020 election and the January 6th attack, my fellow Republicans wanted me to lie. They wanted me to say that the 2020 election was stolen, that the January 6 attack was no big deal, and that Donald Trump was not dangerous,” Cheney said in Colorado Springs on Sunday, linking her experiences as a student to her work in the US House of Representatives.

“I had to choose between lying or losing my position in the House leadership.”

In three terms, Cheney rose to the No. 3 GOP leadership position in the House, a job she lost after voting to impeach Trump for the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and then failing to budge on her criticism on the former president.

Cheney’s busy speaking schedule and topic have led to speculation over whether she will be allowed to enter the 2024 GOP presidential primaries since leaving office.

Candidates ranging from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley have calibrated their comments on Trump, aiming to counter his attacks without the supporters who won him the White House seven years ago , to alienate oneself.

While some have expressed thoughtful criticism, no stated or potential challenger has embraced anti-Trump messages to the same extent as Cheney.

She did not refer to her plans on Sunday, but rather said she still doubts whether she wants to run for president.

Though she would face an uphill battle, Cheney’s vehemently anti-Trump stance and her role as vice chairman of the House committee elevated her platform high enough to appeal to a national network of donors and Trump- critics to support a White House campaign.

A super PAC organized in support of her candidacy has remained active, including buying attack ads on air in New Hampshire against Trump this month.

After leaving office and being replaced by a Trump-backed Republican who defeated her in the primary last year, Cheney was appointed professor at the University of Virginia and wrote “Oath and Honor,” a memoir that was published in November in the stores will appear.

Two of Cheney’s five children and her mother also graduated from liberal arts college.

Cheney’s speech seems to be getting underway. She will appear at the Mackinac Policy Conference in Michigan on Thursday.