By law, former President Donald Trump could only serve one more term if he's reelected, but more people are voicing fears about whether he would willingly leave office after another four years is up.
Among those to raise the question is former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who spoke with NBC’s “TODAY” on Monday, saying, “there’s no question” she thinks he would try his hardest to remain in power beyond his limit of four years.
“He’s already done it once,” Cheney said, referring to his efforts after the 2020 election to overturn the results and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
Cheney warned that if Trump was reelected, the United States could be faced with the threat of becoming a dictatorship.
“I think it’s a very, very real threat and concern,” Cheney said. “And I don’t say any of that lightly, and frankly, it’s painful for me as someone who has spent her whole life in Republican politics, who grew up as a Republican, to watch what’s happening to my party and to watch the extent to which Donald Trump himself has basically determined that the only thing that matters is him, his power and his success.”
Cheney also said that it was “naive” for Americans to think the country would survive another four years under Trump.
When it comes to the checks and balances in place to keep a president from gaining too much power, Cheney argued they couldn’t rely on a House led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and a Senate filled with Trump supporters.
She then discussed what would happen if Trump lost in 2024 but tried to overturn the election again, saying it was “too dangerous to even contemplate going down that path,” calling 2020 and 2021 their practice run.
Despite being a Republican her entire career, Cheney said that Democrats taking control of the House would be safer for the country than having Johnson and Republicans remain in control if they were forced to determine the outcome of a presidential election.
“I think what we have seen is that you cannot count on this group of elected Republicans to uphold their oath,” she said.
When asked who she would vote for if 2024 was a repeat of 2020, Cheney said she would “never vote for Donald Trump” and that she would “do whatever it takes to make sure that Donald Trump is defeated in 2024.”
“A vote for Donald Trump may mean the last election that you ever get to vote in,” Cheney said. “A vote for Donald Trump is a vote against the Constitution.”