‘The Things We Do for the Orange Jesus’: CNN Shares Stunning Insider Excerpts from Liz Cheney’s New Book

CNN’s Jamie Gangel reported on some of the newsworthy tidbits in former Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) upcoming memoir, Oath and Honor, which is set to be published on Dec. 5th.

Gangel spoke with Jake Tapper and dished on some of Cheney’s insider accounts surrounding former President Donald Trump’s rehabilitation in the GOP after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Cheney writes that McCarthy told her that he had just spoken to Trump and that McCarthy says, quote, ‘He knows it’s over. He just needs to go through all the stages of grief,’” Gangel began, adding:

Cheney then writes, it’s her wry sense of humor, that the stages of grief also apparently included tweeting in all cap letters. But, Jake, there’s also another sort of stunning anecdote about Kevin McCarthy. We all remember the photograph when just three weeks after January 6th, There it is. Kevin McCarthy goes running down to Mar-a-Lago. He’s afraid he can’t raise money.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is this is a lifeline. Everyone thought that the Republican Party was going to rid itself of Donald Trump. Everybody had spoken negatively about him. But then McCarthy does this and it basically, you know, he’s like Phoenix from the ashes. Donald Trump is renewed,” Tapper interjected, setting the scene.

“Correct. And nobody knows this trip is happening. And Cheney writes, actually, when she saw that photo, she thought it was a fake,” Gangel continues, reading dialogue from the book:

CHENEY: Mar-a-Lago? What the hell, Kevin?

MCCARTHY: They’re really worried. Trump’s not eating, so they asked me to come see him.

CHENEY: What? You went to Mar-a-Lago because Trump’s not eating?

MCCARTHY: Yeah. He’s really depressed.

“She also reveals that, look, she was not the only one she talks about,” Gangel went on. “Other Republicans were, quote, angry and disgusted that McCarthy had gone running back to Trump. And there’s a text that’s going around and she writes that her Republican colleagues, quote, some mocked him, circulating that Trump McCarthy photo along with Get Ready, the clip from the movie Jerry Maguire, where Tom Cruise tells Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.”
Gangel and Tapper then discuss Cheney’s take on current House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and his incessant efforts to push the “big lie” around Congress ahead of Jan. 6th.

After discussing Cheney’s take on her relationship with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Gangel adds, “One story here about a Republican colleague that I think goes to the naming names. There’s an extraordinary scene on January 6th that she recounts where Republican members are sort of being asked to sign these sheets for electoral vote objections.”

“And she writes about Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee. Yeah. And he’s signing and she hears him and, quote, as he moved down the line signing his name to the pieces of paper. Greene said sheepishly to no one in particular, the things we do for ‘The Orange Jesus,’” Gangle concluded.

“They call him ‘The Orange Jesus. Yes, it’s not exactly a compliment,” Tapper replied.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.