GOP governor says Republican Party has to allow for differences

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Sunday said that the Republican Party has to allow for differences when asked about the push to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership position as House Republican Conference chairwoman because of her anti-Trump stance.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Cox what it says about the Republican Party when GOP lawmakers are pushing to remove Cheney because she “won’t tell the big election lie.”

Cox said it shows the party is “very divided,” which he added is “no secret.”

“It shows that we’re very divided as a party, and that’s no secret. I’m not the first person to say that, but as we talk about broadening the tent and bringing in a new generation of Republicans, we really have to allow for those types of differences,” Cox said.

Utah’s GOP Gov. Spencer Cox says efforts to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from party leadership shows that the GOP is divided, adding, “But as we talk about broadening the tent and bringing in a new generation of Republicans we really have to allow for those types of differences” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/TJvPlNSxgb

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 9, 2021

Cox also said it was “remarkable” that Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was booed during a speech at a GOP convention in Utah but that a resolution to censure him ultimately failed.

“We’re seeing that here in Utah. This is playing out everywhere. You reference the convention that took place last week. I think what’s remarkable — you did hear that clip of the boos, and Sen. Romney certainly got the brunt of that, but the resolution to censure him actually failed, and that was with, again, a small number of delegates, theoretically the most passionate and maybe extreme number of delegates,” Cox said.

He noted that there is “room in the party” in Utah for both Romney and Sen. Mike Lee (R), an ally of former President Trump.