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2024 election updates: Trump uses violent rhetoric to attack 'war hawk' Liz Cheney
He said she should face "nine barrels," appearing to suggest a firing squad.
With four days to go -- and the candidates engaging in their final push -- Donald Trump is lashing out at Liz Cheney, who's supporting Kamala Harris. Thursday night in Arizona, he called her a "war hawk" and said she should face "nine barrels," appearing to suggest a firing squad.
Both Trump and Harris are campaigning in the crucial Midwest on Friday, both ending up in battleground Wisconsin with dueling rallies in Milwaukee.
Key Headlines
More than 65 million Americans have voted early
As of 5:45 a.m. ET on Friday, more than 65 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the total number of early votes, 34,277,250 were cast in person and 30,685,094 were returned by mail.
US Capitol Police Union urges force to be prepared for Election Day and beyond
The U.S. Capitol Police Union is urging the U.S. Capitol Police to be prepared to tackle any issue that arises on or after Election Day.
"The Department must communicate and work with rank-and-file officers as we prepare for this election, the certification and Inauguration -- we cannot repeat the failures of four years ago," U.S. Capitol Police Chief Union chairman Gus Papathanasiou said in a statement released on Friday.
On Jan. 6, 2021, over 140 Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan Police officers were injured. One officer died the next day and several others took their lives in the days after the attack, according to the union.
"Our officers will be out in force to protect the Capitol Complex, Members of Congress and their staffs," Papathanasiou said. "We trust our fellow Americans to support law enforcement by supporting and respecting our officers by allowing every vote to be counted in a safe, secure election process. There is no place for violence in our elections."
-ABC News' Luke Barr
Trump campaign attempts to spin Cheney comments
Trump's campaign is attempting to spin Trump's violent rhetoric against former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump's spokesperson, claimed on Friday morning that his remarks were being taken out of context.
"President Trump was CLEARLY explaining that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves," Leavitt wrote on X.
She also shared a clip of Trump's talk with Tucker Carlson when Trump said: "Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. OK, let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'Oh, gee, well, let's send a -- let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.'"
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa
Cheney responds: 'This is how dictators destroy free nations'
Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney responded to Trump's comments in a post on X.
"This is how dictators destroy free nations," she wrote. "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."
She also included the hashtag #VoteKamala in the post.
Trump escalates violent rhetoric in attack on Liz Cheney
Sitting down with Tucker Carlson in Arizona late Thursday, Trump unleashed on former Rep. Liz Cheney.
"She's a radical war hawk," Trump said as he accused her and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, of leading the United States into the war in the Middle East.
"Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her," Trump said, invoking violence on his opponents as he implied that she sends people to war without having any war experience of her own.
"Okay, let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'Oh, gee, Will, let's send a, let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy,'" Trump continued.
He also repeatedly called Cheney a "stupid" and "bad" person.
-ABC News' Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh