Cheney’s memoir, while providing interesting insider details, is narrow in scope and lacks curiosity. She shares her recollections from inside the House chamber on Jan. 6, including an incident where she swatted Jim Jordan’s hand away when he approached her to help “get the ladies” off the aisle. Cheney also expresses her contempt for Kevin McCarthy, describing him as unprincipled and unintelligent compared to Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi.
However, Cheney’s memoir falls short by treating the period between the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack as the only significant history, disregarding any prior warnings about Trump. She once believed in the country’s constitutional principles, but everything changed for her on January 6, 2021.
Cheney’s book does not delve into why she and others made peace with Trump’s authoritarian and anti-constitutional impulses, despite her regret for voting for him in 2020. Her explanation for voting against Trump’s first impeachment is weak, as she suggests the Democrats should have subpoenaed John Bolton for additional evidence. She blames those who failed to distance themselves from Trump after the 2020 election and Jan. 6, attributing their actions to social media echo chambers and pro-Trump news outlets.
While Cheney’s courage in challenging her party over Trump’s election fantasies is commendable, it does not erase her prior support for Trump. Her leadership of the House Jan. 6 committee prioritized patriotism over partisanship. However, it is important to recognize that Trump’s deceit, disregard for norms, and assault on government institutions spanned his entire presidency, not just its closing weeks. His claims of electoral fraud began before the 2020 election and were also present in the 2016 election.