Liz Cheney Slams 'Dictator' Trump After He Suggests There Should ...

1 Nov 2024

Forbes

Topline

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., responded Friday after former President Donald Trump suggested Thursday she should have guns “trained on her face,” as the ex-lawmaker has become an outspoken Trump opponent and Trump has used increasingly violent rhetoric to threaten retaliation against his political enemies.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington D.C. on October 13.

William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images Key Facts

Trump called Cheney a “stupid person” and “very dumb individual” in comments onstage at an event with ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson Thursday night, suggesting, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her.”

The ex-president was discussing Cheney being what he called a “radical war hawk” and complained about politicians being war hawks “when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building,” adding, “Let’s see how [Cheney] feels about it, you know when the guns are trained on her face.”

Cheney responded to Trump’s comments early Friday on X, tweeting, “This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death.”

“We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant,” Cheney added, ending her statement with a hashtag to support Vice President Kamala Harris.

Cheney, a longtime GOP lawmaker and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has become an outspoken Trump opponent in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, and has endorsed Harris and campaigned alongside her ahead of the presidential election.

Tangent

Dick Cheney has also endorsed Harris ahead of Election Day, calling Trump a “threat to our republic” and saying Americans “have a duty to put our country above partisanship to defend our Constitution.” Trump responded to that onstage with Carlson before he attacked the younger Cheney, saying he “doesn’t blame” Dick Cheney “for sticking with his daughter.” The ex-president has previously made harsher comments against the former VP, calling him a “fool” on Truth Social after he endorsed Harris and criticizing the U.S.’ “ridiculous journey into the Middle East” during Cheney’s time in the White House.

How Has The Harris Campaign Responded?

Harris campaign senior advisor Ian Sams responded to Trump’s comments about Cheney on MSNBC Friday morning, slamming the “dangerous, violent rhetoric” and saying it shows “the contrast between these two candidates.” “You have Donald Trump, who’s talking about sending a prominent Republican to the firing squad, and you have Vice President Harris talking about sending one to her Cabinet,” Sams said.

Key Background

Trump has come under scrutiny for his increasingly violent rhetoric ahead of Election Day, as the former president has vowed revenge against his enemies if he wins and announced plans for harsh measures like the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. He has suggested that “one violent day” in the U.S. would end crime and said his mass deportations will be “a bloody story,” for instance, and has described Democrats and his political rivals as “the enemies from within” and suggested that opposition “should be very easily handled” by the National Guard or military. The ex-president has also repeatedly criticized Cheney as she has become one of the most prominent conservatives to oppose Trump, calling her a “low IQ war hawk” and “one of the dumber people in politics.” Cheney and her father are part of a growing number of conservatives who have endorsed Harris ahead of Election Day, along with figures like former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Bush-era Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Jimmy McCain, son of late Sen. John McCain.