Following her crushing defeat of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney in the state’s Republican primary, Trump-endorsed winner Harriet Hageman joined Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.
Asked if she had received a concession from her opponent, Hageman said Cheney had left a voicemail which said only, “Hello Harriet.” The call did not contain “any kind of a concession,” she told Hannity.
Hageman: There wasn’t a phone call… She called and left a very brief two second message.. All she said was hello Harriet.. She didn’t call and discuss any kind of concession.. pic.twitter.com/rlYiYaG2pS
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 18, 2022
Upon hearing this news, the Cheney campaign quickly sent an audio recording of her voicemail to Politico reporter Olivia Beavers, who posted the call on her Twitter page.
The audio begins with Hageman’s greeting message followed by the prompt to begin recording a message. Cheney said, “Hi Harriet. Liz Cheney calling. It’s about 8:13 on Tuesday the 16th. I’m calling to concede the election and to congratulate you on the win. Thanks. Bye, bye.”
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve obtained audio from the Cheney campaign of the concession voicemail Rep. Liz Cheney’s left for Harriet Hageman last night.
The audio contradicts the narrative Hageman gave on Hannity tonight that she “didn’t address any kind of concession or anything else.” https://t.co/SZTxyyEmTn pic.twitter.com/LodE9YVVIW
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) August 18, 2022
Do you think Liz Cheney has a future in politics?
Cheney sympathizers immediately came to her aid, chief among them was anti-Trumper Stephen Hayes.
In a hasty Twitter post, Hayes accused Hageman of being a liar. He wrote: “The lying is inveterate. It’s habitual. Say anything at all — true or untrue — so long as it wins you MAGApplause.”
It’s such a small thing but it says so much.
The lying is inveterate. It’s habitual. Say anything at all — true or untrue — so long as it wins you MAGApplause.
And there will be zero price paid for having been caught in such an embarrassing lie. https://t.co/tsLMhdazNK
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) August 18, 2022
Shortly afterward, Hageman’s campaign sent audio of the voicemail they had received to Beavers, which she promptly posted on Twitter. Cheney is heard saying only, “Hi Harriet.” The remainder of the recording is silence.
Beavers speculates that “technical/cell service issues” might be to blame for the flap.
HAGEMAN’s campaign has sent their own video to me showing that the voicemail audio only got “Howdy Harriet.” The voicemail had more time on it but that’s all the audio that got through to Hageman.
Perhaps technical / cell service issues at play over Cheney concession message pic.twitter.com/JTtICQ7eXi
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) August 18, 2022
Then the Cheney sympathizers had to walk back their claims, which was a beautiful thing.
I tweeted last night accusing Harriet Hageman of lying about the voicemail concession left for her by Liz Cheney. I was wrong. This video from @Olivia_Beavers suggests tech issues may have caused the problem. My apologies.https://t.co/n7PVFiHFil
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) August 18, 2022
Yes, technical issues could be responsible for this kerfuffle. But frankly, we can’t rule out the possibility that the audio sent to Beavers by the Cheney campaign may have been recorded after the fact. We’ll never know, and it’s certainly not worth wasting our time to find out.
But the quickness of never-Trumpers to pounce on Hageman before knowing the facts was staggering.
Following her historic loss to Hageman, the fawning coverage of Cheney by the legacy media was nauseating. They spoke of her future in politics as if she’s some oracle leading Americans to the truth.
The reality is that Cheney is a bitter woman whose obsessive hatred for former President Donald Trump has blinded her. She has lost control of her emotions. She has the charisma of a rock, and the very idea that she could give Trump a run for his money in 2024 is a testament to her self-delusion. She needs to gather up what little dignity she has left and go away!
