Liz Cheney compares herself to Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant after losing primary: 'Their courage saved freedom'

Rep. Liz Cheney (R) seemingly compared her situation to those that former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant triumphantly faced during the Civil War.

Cheney lost the Wyoming Republican primary by nearly 40 points, an even larger margin than polls had predicted.

What did Cheney say?

Speaking to supporters in Jackson, Wyoming, Cheney reminded them that Lincoln lost congressional elections before being elected to the White House.

She said of Lincoln:

The great and original champion of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all. Lincoln ultimately prevailed, he saved our Union and he defined our obligation as Americans for all of history.

Speaking at Gettysburg of the great task remaining before us, Lincoln said, "That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and a government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth."

After taking shots at former President Donald Trump and his supporters, Cheney invoked Grant and heroic actions he took on the battlefield as a Union general in the Civil War.

Cheney explained that Grant, in the face of heavy fighting and mass casualties, refused to retreat during the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864.

"Refusing to retreat, he pressed on to victory," Cheney said. "Lincoln and Grant and all who fought in our nation's tragic Civil War, including my own great-great-grandfathers, saved our Union. Their courage saved freedom.

"And if we listen closely, they are speaking to us down the generations," she continued. "We must not idly squander what so many have fought and died for."

Watch what Cheney told supporters after losing Wyoming GOP primarywww.youtube.com

Earlier in her speech, Cheney reminded voters that she won the 2020 GOP primary with 73% of the vote, an even greater amount than Cheney's opponent, Harriet Hageman, won on Tuesday.

According to Cheney, she "could easily have done the same again," but "it would have required that I go along with President Trump's lie about the 2020 election."

"That was a path I could not and would not take," Cheney vowed. "No House seat, no office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect, and I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty."

Anything else?

Meanwhile, Cheney confirmed early Wednesday that she is considering a presidential campaign.

"That’s a decision that I’m going to make in the coming months. I’m not going to make any announcements here this morning. But it is something that I am thinking about, and I’ll make a decision in the coming months," she said on NBC's "TODAY" show.