Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) says former President Donald Trump is “toxic” for the Republican Party and the country and is urging his party to try to “get back to the more traditional big-tent party” he says it used to be.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Hogan was asked if he shared Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) view that Trump is an “ongoing threat to American democracy.”
“I think he’s toxic for the Republican Party and for the country,” Hogan responded. “And I think we’ve got to find a way to get the Republican Party back to the party of Lincoln and Reagan, get back to the more traditional big-tent party that can appeal to a majority of people.”
He added, “Otherwise we simply aren’t going to have control, we’re not going to get the White House back and we won’t have control of the House and the Senate.”
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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan thinks it was “a mistake” for House Republicans to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from leadership: “To ostracize somebody, remove them from their leadership position, is crazy … It's kind of doubling down on failure” #CNNSOTUhttps://t.co/QhsRh8lXmV pic.twitter.com/Bcqm99lH8K
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 16, 2021
When asked if he believes that Cheney’s removal from House Republican leadership sends a message that people who share her views are not welcome in the party, he said, “It certainly appears to send that signal.”
While he said it is “very early in the fight” over which direction the party should go, he called the move to oust Cheney a “mistake.”
“To ostracize somebody, remove them from their leadership position, is crazy … It’s kind of doubling down on failure. We’ve lost the White House, the House, and the Senate over the past four years, and to continue to, you know, do the exact same thing and expect a different result is the definition of insanity,” Hogan added.
House Republicans voted last week to strip Cheney from her position as House Republican Conference chair after her repeated criticism of Trump and willingness to push back on his unfounded claims that the presidential election was stolen, as IJR reported.
