Colbert: Why do you think, though, for the first time in our nationās history, the Republican Party won that race and got the first fascist dictator who could possibly take office? Iām just curious if youāve done any self-examination of your partyās leadership over the last 20 years as to why he is not an aberration, but rather an avatar.
Cheney: I think heās an aberration. I thinkā
Colbert: Really?
Cheney: Yeah, I mean, look, I think what Donald Trump has done is, first of all, he he tapped into a sense among a lot of people in this country that their voice isnāt heard. But he then lied to them and he preyed on their patriotism and told them, āYou know what? Iāll speak for you.ā
Colbert: But very specifically through things like racism, like āMexicans are rapists, theyāre killers. Theyāre here to get us.ā Like, thatās a very racist ideology.
Cheney: Absolutely.
Colbert: Undermining of the media. Thatās a very fascist thing to do.
Cheney: Look, thereās no question that heās using a fascist playbook.
Colbert: Right.
Cheney: But itās also true right now, if you want to talk about, you know, for example, the disgusting anti-Semitism that is on the rise across this country. The left has a huge problem with anti-Semitism. And what weāre seeing on our university campuses, for example, and the unwillingness to stand against it.
Colbert: I would agree that anti-Semitism is a disease that runs across all cultural boundaries, not only the United States, but across the world. What I mean by, say, undermining the media isā¦ undercutting, sort of like roughing up the referee was a project of the right for the last 20 years or undermining public institutions.
You say that people believe that our public institutions can take the punishment that Trump will give them, and thatās why heās not as dangerous as he should be. But, I mean, the Republican Partyās mantra has been āthe government is the problemā for so many years.
Cheney: Yeah, but see, this is itās really important in my view that we not sort of slide into saying everything the Republicans have ever done, you know, is somehow the same as what Donald Trump is doing.
Colbert: Iām not saying everything. Iām saying those are breadcrumbs.
Cheney: Yeah, but I thinkā¦ You and I are just not going to agree on that. I mean, I think itāsā
Colbert: I know weāre not going to agree, but do you understand why Iām asking that question?
Cheney: Yeah, but I think you should let me answer it.
With that, they both smiled and shook hands, and Cheney answered:
Now, look, I think that when I stood in front of my colleagues, for example, when they kicked me out of leadership, I said to them, you know, we cannot become the party of anti-Semitism and white supremacy and racism and bigotry. And if you look at the people and the symbolism that the people had who invaded the Capitol on January 6th, they had neo-Nazi insignia. The Confederate flag flew for the first time inside the Capitol on that day.
And the Republican Party, maybe what we should say is we can debate about how we got to this point. I think the Republican Party has, people who have been in the party, have a particular duty to stand against where we are today. And I also think we all have to recognize heās using a fascist playbook. I mean, I donāt disagree with what youāre saying. Heās taking the same steps that we have seen people all around the world take in the past.
And the challenge for us as Americans is not to say to ourselves, āWell, that can never happen here. The people who are claiming that he is, you know, going to unravel the Constitution if heās elected again are catastrophizing.ā We canāt we canāt go down that path. We have to understand this is a very real threat, and thereāll be a lot of time for us to debate how we got to this place. But right now, we have to stand together as Americans to stop him. Thatās the most important thing.
