THE SCENE, QUOTE, IF THERE WAS
ANY DOUBT THIS IS STILL TRUMP’S
REPUBLICAN PARTY, MY TIME IN
CHEYENNE DISPELLED IT.
JOINING OUR CONVERSATION, THE
AFOREMENTIONED TARA, COAUTHOR OF
POLITICO’S PLAYBOOK, WHO WAS IN
CHEYENNE YESTERDAY FOR THE MATT
GAETZ VS. LIZ CHENEY RALLY.
LISTEN, I WORKED WITH THE
CHENEYS, I WOULD ADVISE FOLKS TO
NEVER BET AGAINST THE CHENEYS
BUT THIS DOES LOOK LIKE AN
ANIMATED PART OF THE PARTY
THERE.
>> DEFINITELY, AND I THINK THEY
SEE THEMSELVES NOW ON A CRUSADE
FOR DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP IS WAY MORE POPULAR
THAN SHE IS, FROM THE PEOPLE
THAT I SPOKE TO, AND I ACTUALLY
WENT OUT OF MY WAY TO TRY TO
FIND SOMEONE WHO WOULD DEFEND
HER AND I REALLY COULDN’T.
AND I LEFT THE RALLY.
I WENT AND TALKED TO PEOPLE ON
THE STREET, RIGHT?
I WANTED TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAD
TO SAY.
I WENT TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF
SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, EVERYTHING.
I TALKED TO RANCHERS, AND
LITERALLY TRUMP -- SHE DIDN’T
HAVE THAT MUCH NAME RECOGNITION,
CONSIDERING SHE’S A CHENEY.
A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT SHE WAS
A SENATOR OR A MAYOR AND THEY
WEREN’T WILLING TO GO OUT IN A
PRIMARY AND VOTE FOR HER AND THE
PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY WERE GOING
TO VOTE FOR HER WERE VEHEMENTLY
AGAINST HER AND THESE WERE THE
TRUMP VOTERS BASE.
I MEAN, I SAID HER NAME IN A
HARDWARE STORE AND SOMEONE
SHOUTED A THREAT.
LIKE, THESE PEOPLE ARE PAYING
VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO HER
VOTE.
WHAT I HEARD OVERWHELMINGLY FROM
THE PEOPLE THAT WERE AGAINST
HER, SHE DID NOT VOTE FOR
WYOMING WHEN SHE VOTED TO
IMPEACH AND THEREFORE SHE HAS TO
GO.
>> DID ANYONE SOUND TO YOU LIKE
THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE
FACTS OF THE 2020 ELECTION, THAT
EVEN --
>> NO.
>> EVEN REPUBLICANS LIKE CHRIS
KREBS HAVE SAID THERE WAS NO
FRAUD, THAT 92 JUDGES APPOINTED
BY DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS,
INCLUDING TRUMP, FOUND IN FRAUD,
THAT IT WASN’T REAL?
>> NICOLE, I LITERALLY -- PEOPLE
WOULDN’T TALK TO ME WITH MY MASK
ON.
THEY THINK COVID IS -- THE
NUMBERS ARE GROSS LOO INFLATED.
I HAD THREE GUYS, THREE RANCHERS
IN THEIR 70s TELLING ME, TAKE
YOUR MASK OFF, WE DON’T WANT TO
TALK YO TO YOU WITH YOUR MASK
ON.
I WAS IN ROOMS WITH 30 PEOPLE,
NO ONE WEARING A MASK INSIDE,
JUST ME.
I TALKED -- THEY SAID THESE ARE
THE MAIN ARGUMENTS I’VE HEARD
OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
PEOPLE AREN’T GOING THE GET
VACCINATED THERE.
THESE PEOPLE ARE DISTRUSTFUL OF
THE VACCINE.
THEY THINK THAT EITHER THE
INSURRECTION WAS STAGED, IT WAS
ANTIFA, THEY DON’T WANT TO WATCH
THE NEWS, THEY DON’T HEAR ABOUT
IT BECAUSE IT POLLUTES THEIR
THOUGHTS ABOUT TRUMP AND IT’S
JUST THE SAME TALKING POINTS
THAT YOU’RE HEARING FROM QANON
AND TRUMP SUPPORTERS AND THEY’RE
GOSPEL.
I COULDN’T SAY ANYTHING.
I WAS LIKE, DO YOU KNOW ANYONE
WHO DIED FROM COVID?
BECAUSE I DO.
AND THEY JUST -- YOU COULDN’T
REASON.
YOU KNOW?
IT WAS HARD.
IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT FOR ME,
BECAUSE YOU CAN’T -- THEY’RE
LOOKING AT YOU, TOO, YOU’RE A
REPORTER COMING IN, RIGHT, FROM
WASHINGTON TO GET YOUR -- GET A
FEELING OF THE PULSE, BUT I
TRULY FELT THAT I COULDN’T FIND
ANYONE TO REALLY DEFEND LIZ
CHENEY.
THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT SHE’LL BE
PRIMARIED.
THE PRIMARY’S IN AUGUST 2022,
RIGHT?
THAT’S A LONG TIME FROM NOW.
BUT IF THE PRIMARY WERE IN 2021,
I THINK SHE WOULD BE IN A LOT OF
TROUBLE AND I ALSO MET PEOPLE
FROM JACKSON HOLE, LIKE THE KIND
OF SOCCER MOMS DRIVING SIX HOURS
TOGETHER WITH THEIR TEENAGE
DAUGHTERS TO COME OUT AGAINST
LIZ CHENEY.
AND YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN’T
WEARING MASKS AND WHEN I ASKED
THEM WHY, THEY SAID, EVERYONE
GOT COVID IN JACKSON HOLE OVER
CHRISTMAS AND THAT THEIR KIDS
WEREN’T GOING TO BE VACCINATED.
I JUST SAW THE -- THIS MASK
ISSUE IS DEFINITELY HANGING OVER
IT AND THIS KIND OF BELIEF IN
THE CONSPIRACIES, AND YOU COULD
PRETTY MUCH -- YOU WOULD KNOW
RIGHT AWAY IF YOU TALKED TO
SOMEONE WITHOUT A MASK ON WHAT
THEY WERE GOING TO THINK ABOUT
DONALD TRUMP.
AND EVEN PEOPLE THAT I SAW SORT
OF WEARING MASKS, BECAUSE THEY
HAD TO FOR THEIR JOBS, THEY SAID
LIZ CHENEY DID NOT REPRESENT US
AND THEY HAVE REALLY STRONG
FEELINGS ABOUT IT AND THEN THE
OTHER PEOPLE, THEY JUST HAVE NO
FEELINGS AT ALL AND THOSE PEOPLE
DON’T VOTE IN PRIMARIES SO SHE’S
GOT TO GET OUT THERE, I THINK,
IN HER DISTRICT, BECAUSE THIS IS
A CRUSADE FOR TRUMP NOW.
>> TARA, DID YOU FEEL SAFE?
>> YEAH, THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION,
ACTUALLY.
NOT REALLY.
I WILL ADMIT I TOOK MY MASK OFF
A FEW TIMES BECAUSE I FELT LIKE
I NEEDED TO GET THESE PEOPLE TO
TALK TO ME.
I DIDN’T THINK, LIKE, IF I -- I
DIDN’T WANT TO COME OFF AS SOME
BIG CITY REPORTER BRAT, YOU KNOW
WHAT I’M SAYING?
I WANTED TO, LIKE, GET -- REALLY
GET THE -- I REALLY WANTED TO
FIND OUT WHAT THEY THOUGHT SO I
TOOK OFF MY MASK A FEW TIMES
OUTSIDE.
AND I TALKED TO PEOPLE REALLY
CLOSE.
I WAS IN ROOMS WITH, YOU KNOW,
30-PLUS PEOPLE, SIZE OF A HOTEL
ROOM, AND I DON’T KNOW.
LIKE, CHECK IN WITH ME IN FIVE
DAYS.
I DON’T KNOW.
I MIGHT HAVE COVID FOR ALL I
KNOW.
BUT I DON’T KNOW.
IT’S CRAZY.
IT’S REALLY CRAZY.
AND YOU KNOW, MATT GAETZ, HE HAS
ANTIBODIES.
THAT’S WHY HE WAS OUT THERE
WITHOUT HIS MASK ON.
I ASKED ABOUT THIS.
WHY ISN’T HE WEARING HIS MASK?
HE HAS ANTIBODIES.
ANTIBODY IS THE NEW VACCINE IN
THE TRUMP CROWD BECAUSE THEY ALL
GOT COVID.
BUT IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
AND I HATE THAT THEY’RE SO
DISTRUSTFUL.
I WAS LIKE, I KNOW PEOPLE WHO
HAVE DIED OF COVID.
ONE GUY TOLD ME THAT HE GOT
COVID AND HE HAD WORSE HANGOVERS
THAN COVID SO IT’S NOT
PENETRATING OUT THERE IN THE
SAME WAY, AND YOU KNOW, IT’S
JUST SO -- IT’S KIND OF A -- IT
FEELS LIKE ANOTHER WORLD, BUT
THAT’S WHAT’S ON THE GROUND, AND
I DON’T THINK WE CAN IGNORE IT.
AND I’M REALLY HAPPY I WENT OUT