Actor Alec Baldwin is suggesting that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is essentially the American version of a famed Russian opposition figure.
During an episode of “The Chris Cuomo Project” podcast, Baldwin said he watched a documentary about the well-known Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
Navalny, who has been an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and survived being poisoned, is currently imprisoned in Russia and was reportedly placed in solitary confinement.
“Who’s the Navalny?” Baldwin said he asked after watching the film. “Where’s the man or woman that’s willing to self-immolate over principle? You’re willing to end your career over principle.”
He went on to suggest, “We do have one today. We do have one, who is the Navalny of our current political culture, and that’s Liz Cheney.”
“I’m very, very, very heartened to see Liz Cheney do the right thing. I mean, even though her politics heretofore was not my cup of tea, and her father was somebody who was like a villain to me on a movie poster,” Baldwin added.
Listen to the exchange below:
When asked if he would vote for Cheney if he had the chance, Baldwin said he would “have to think about that,” and it “depends on who the opponent is.”
“Liz Cheney, to me, is someone who I would certainly consider a great candidate for some political appointment,” he added.
Cheney is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Since her impeachment vote, the Wyoming Congresswoman has become a vocal critic of Trump. During a June speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, she called the former president a “domestic threat.”
“At this moment, we are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before — and that is a former president who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic,” she said.
Cheney added, “He is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man. Even after all we’ve seen, they’re enabling his lies.”
Last year House Republicans stripped Cheney of her leadership role amid her criticism of Trump.
The Wyoming Congresswoman is facing a primary challenge, and polls appear to show she is poised to lose her primary election on Tuesday.
According to a University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center poll that was conducted July 25-Aug. 6, Cheney is trailing her challenger — Harriet Hageman — by almost 30 points.