Trump 'aware' Cheney died, White House says, after history of tensions between them
Cheney called Trump a "coward" and "threat to our republic" after Jan. 6.
Dick Cheney, who died on Monday, was one of the most prominent and polarizing Republican vice presidents in history -- and in recent years a blunt-spoken critic of Donald Trump.
Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, voiced their opposition to Trump after his push to deny the 2020 election results and the pro-Trump mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
President Trump has yet to comment on Dick Cheney’s death. The White House lowered flags on Tuesday morning, though made no major proclamation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday afternoon only that Trump was "aware" that Dick Cheney died.
"I know the president is aware of the former vice president's passing. And as you saw, flags have been lowered to half staff in accordance with statutory law," she said when asked if Trump had spoken with the family or if the White House would be involved in funeral arrangements for the former vice president.
In 2024, Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump.
"In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him," Dick Cheney said in a statement.
"As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris," he said.
Liz Cheney was considered a rising star in the GOP but lost reelection in large part over her objection to Trump. She had a lead role in investigating Trump’s actions after the 2020 election and on Jan. 6, 2021.
Liz Cheney similarly cast Trump as a threat to democracy in 2024, and campaigned for Harris in the final stretch of the campaign.
Trump responded at the time calling Dick Cheney "an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races!"
"He’s the King of Endless, Nonsensical Wars, wasting Lives and Trillions of Dollars, just like Comrade Kamala Harris," Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
Trump’s said multiple times that he believes members of the House select committee that investigated Jan. 6, on which Liz Cheney served as vice chair, should be jailed.
Dick Cheney, in a 2022 ad supporting his daughter's reelection campaign, slammed Trump as a "coward."
"He’s a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost it big. I know it, he knows, and deep down I think most Republicans know it," he said.
He also praised his daughter's investigation of Trump's actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021.
"There is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure Donald Trump is never again near the Oval Office," he said.
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