Cheney on Trump: ‘He’s going to unravel the democracy to come back into power’

Rep. Liz Cheney is outlining her next steps in the aftermath of her ousting from leadership, telling NBC, "I intend to be the leader, one of the leaders, in a fight to help to restore our party," and warning that former President Donald Trump is willing "to unravel the democracy to come back into power." 

The Wyoming congresswoman, and now former House Republican Conference chair, also didn't rule out a run for president in the "Today" interview that aired Thursday morning, but she did confirm she will run for reelection for her US House seat next year. 

Cheney said "silence is not an option" when speaking out against Trump, and she said admonishments from her fellow Republicans to move forward are not possible because the damage that the former president is causing is "an ongoing threat." The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney reiterated her assertion Wednesday that Trump cannot become president again. 

"He's unfit," she said. "He never again can be anywhere close to the Oval Office." 

"For reasons that I don't understand, leaders in my party have decided to embrace the former President who launched that attack," Cheney said. "And I think you've watched over the course of the last several months, the former President get more aggressive, more vocal, pushing the lie, and I think that's a really important thing for people to understand. This isn't about looking backwards. This is about the real-time current potential damage that he's doing, that he continues to do."

She added, "It's an ongoing threat, so silence is not an option."