President-elect Donald Trump called for Liz Cheney to be thrown in jail in his first televised interview since winning a second term.
Trump's sit-down with Kristen Welker of NBC's "Meet the Press" did little to discourage the idea that he will use his office for score-settling. In one particularly troubling moment, he argued that former Rep. Liz Cheney should be thrown in jail for her work investigating Trump's actions on January 6.
"Cheney was behind it and so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee...For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail," he said in the interview that aired on Sunday.
The House's January 6th Committee ultimately found that Trump should be prosecuted for his actions leading up to and during the storming of the U.S. Capitol. An election interference case against Trump played out under the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has wound down his prosecutions of the president now that Trump is set to take office again.
For her part, Welker tried to give Trump an out. She asked him directly if he really thinks Cheney, a vocal supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks leading up to the election, should be imprisoned.
"For what they did...I think everybody on the [committee], anybody that voted in favor [should go to jail]," he said.
Welker asked if Trump would go so far as to direct his attorney general to send Cheney to jail, at which point he finally pulled back.
"Not at all, I think they'll have to look at that," he said. "I'm going to focus on 'drill, baby, drill.'"
Watch the exchange below:
Welker: So you think Liz Cheney should go to jail?
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 8, 2024
Trump: For what they did -- Anybody that voted in favor --
Welker: Are you going to direct your FBI director, attorney general to send them to jail?
Trump: Not at all. I think they'll have to look at that pic.twitter.com/6mnUEhG8Qi
