Generally speaking, about the last moment in which you want to discuss running for president is hours after you suffer a crippling defeat. But there was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), fresh off a 37-point loss in her GOP primary Tuesday, on NBC's "Today" show floating the possibility of a national 2024 run.
"It is something I'm thinking about, and I'll make a decision in the coming months," Cheney said, emphasizing that she'll be "doing whatever it takes to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office."
Cheney has raised the possibility before, but she suggested Wednesday that she's not particularly chastened by her party's historic rebuke. And she quickly converted her House campaign into a leadership committee aimed at thwarting Trump in 2024.
The idea that Cheney would have virtually any shot at winning a national Republican primary after such a loss in her home state is, on its face, laughable. And Cheney is shrewd enough to know that.
Even in the best of circumstances for Cheney — a timeline in which she is smartly playing the long game and banking on Trump's ultimate downfall — the 2024 campaign is very near. As Cheney noted, the first campaigns are likely to be launched within a few months. There are also few signs of any major anti-Trump shift in the party, despite multiple legal problems for Trump and signs that GOP voters might look elsewhere — such as to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — for their next nominee. It's also possible Cheney is merely using this speculation, as many politicians do, to remain politically relevant.
But Cheney has also proved that she's willing to lean into a lopsided loss to try to prove a point. And a 2024 bid presents an opportunity, at the very least, to do that.