'Complete joke': MAGA allies melt down as Liz Cheney awarded Presidential Citizens Medal
MAGA allies melted down Thursday after former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney received the Presidential Citizens Medal.
President Joe Biden awarded Cheney the honor, along with Rep. Bennie Thompson and 18 others, who received the accolade during a ceremony at the White House. Cheney received a standing ovation as she received the award, which is the second-highest civilian honor in the country.
Cheney — who made headlines during the presidential campaign when she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over President-elect Donald Trump, and urged other Republicans to do so as well — is the daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney.
In describing her, the White House said she "raised her voice -- and reached across the aisle -- to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency."
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Cheney was recognized for her role as vice chair of the House January 6 Committee.
But Trump has vowed to seek retribution against her once he takes office. And his allies attacked her on social media over the award.
"What a complete joke and utter embarrassment," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wrote on X. "Biden is foolishly giving an award to members of Congress who intentionally and repeatedly lied to the American people?! The Jan 6 Select Committee manipulated AND destroyed evidence - created a fake, phony narrative all to try and hurt Trump. They even hired a TV producer from the legacy media in a desperate attempt to legitimize what Americans knew was a total hoax and complete waste of time."
Johnson vowed that House Republicans "WILL continue our investigation into this corrupt committee and it will be FULLY FUNDED so it can continue next Congress."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) echoed Johnson's sentiments on X.
"This is truly unbelievable. Liz Cheney tampered with a witness. Outside of DC, that doesn’t get you a medal; it gets you jail time," he said.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) attacked Cheney on X as well.
"As it turns out, to earn the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Biden, all you need to do is delete congressional records and commit criminal witness tampering to further your party’s narrative. Congratulations to Cheney and Thompson on this major award," wrote Perry.
Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald, who gained fame more than a decade ago after publishing articles based on classified documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, blasted the White House's reasoning in giving Cheney such a prestigious award.
"Having 'Joe Biden', as one of his last acts, bestow a presidential medal on Liz Cheney says so much about the value system of the Democratic Party," wrote Greenwald. "But what 'Biden' said about Cheney -- an advocate still of countless views liberals denounce` as fascist -- is even more telling:"
Greenwald attached a screenshot of the White House saying she raised her voice and reached across the aisle to defend the country and its ideals, including freedom, dignity and decency.
"Liz Cheney was and is a vocal advocate of the Iraq war, occupation of Afghanistan, regime change wars in Syria and Libya, and - oh yeah - torture, Guantanamo, rendition, warrantless spying, and every War on Terror abuse," he added. "Dems: she dedicated her career to freedom and decency."