'Politician of the Year' for a brave stand against Donald Trump

It’s time to name the Politician of the Year. Who had the greatest impact on American politics in 2024?

Last year, the winner was former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who succeeded in paralyzing the House for much of that year.

Gaetz won as the embodiment of politicians with little interest in governing. He instead delights in dysfunction and bad behavior. Last week, a scandal surrounding allegations of sexual misconduct ended his nomination to be attorney general.

This year, President-Elect Donald Trump is obviously a front-runner for Politician of the Year as the winner of the presidential election. Trump is back at the top of political power despite two impeachments, a massive civil fraud verdict, 34 felony convictions, three other indictments and a verdict that he is liable for a sexual assault. But the impact of his second win is yet to be known.

The impact of this year’s winner is known due to her heroic sacrifice, already the stuff of political legend.

This year’s prize goes to Liz Cheney. The former congresswoman soared sky-high above politics-as-usual in Washington by taking a principled stand that cost her power, friends and the money that comes with status in the capital.

Like a living Joan-of-Arc, she defiantly rejected orders from the rich and powerful to close her eyes to all wrongdoing and get in line up behind Trump.

Trump responded to her with what some saw as a threat, under the guise of attacking her for supporting past wars, by musing what would happen if Cheney were sent into battle herself and had “nine barrels shooting at her.”

The violent image spoke to the bravery displayed by Cheney — her figurative strength under fire. A principled conservative, a genuine Republican die-hard, her rebukes cut deeply into Trump’s psyche.

His attack on Cheney was more explicit than the menacing language he had unleashed against former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. After it was reported that Milley made approved phone calls to calm world leaders after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Trump said that in the old days, “the punishment would have been death.”

Trump was more violent in his imagining for Cheney because she stood apart from other critics by joining with Democrats to impeach him as a matter of her loyalty to the Constitution.

That led trump to deride her as “sick person,” and use her as an example of what happens to his critics.

“I was responsible for her defeat ... and by the time we finished she got the lowest vote in this history of politics,” he said.

Trump’s subsequent mention of rifles aimed at Cheney’s head came after she made a public appearance at the side of Trump’s rival for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Cheney had joined Harris for an event in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party. Seated with Harris, she called on other Republicans to turn away from Trump and acknowledge him as a threat to the nation’s constitutional order.

Cheney declared: “I have never voted for a Democrat, but ... Donald Trump was willing to sacrifice our Capitol, to allow law enforcement officers to be beaten and brutalized in his name, and to violate the law and the Constitution in order to seize power for himself.”

“I don’t care if you are a Democrat, Republican or independent, that is depravity, and we must never become numb to it,” she said.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is another Republican who served on a Trump impeachment panel and was one of 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment. A military veteran, he later spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and said there is a time to transcend party lines.

“Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy," he said. "Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison to those fundamental matters of principle, decency, and fidelity to this nation. If you believe in defending democracy, I urge you. Make the right choice. Vote for our bedrock values. Vote for Kamala Harris.”

Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) also spoke out against Trump as a threat to preserving our democracy.

Beyond his anger at Cheney and other dissident Republicans, Trump has classified his opponents in the Democratic Party, such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the “enemy within.”

When he was cautioned that such a phrase is “ominous,” Trump responded to Fox’s Howard Kurtz: “I think it is accurate.”

Trump is similarly full of threats for John Kelly, his former chief of staff. Kelly became a target after he told the New York Times that “Trump prefers the dictator approach to government.”

Trump’s spokesman said the retired four-star general had “beclowned himself.” That was along the lines of his response when other first-term officials criticized Trump. He dismissed their assessments as trivial and responded that “when you’re fired ... they say bad things.”

With Trump winning the White House for a second time, it is obvious that many Americans do not share Cheney’s fear of Trump engaging in vengeful attacks on opponents and damaging the constitutional order.

Time will tell, as they say, about Trump and political retribution.

But a concrete show of patriotic courage in standing up for America — no matter what the future holds — is clear evidence that the Politician of the Year award belongs to Liz Cheney.

Juan Williams is an author and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.