Trump says the media is misrepresenting Cheney War Hawk’s comments as a personal threat

Former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney has often been called a war hawk throughout her career, and on Thursday evening former President Donald Trump capitalized on that reputation as he made a statement that some in the media are blasting as a personal threat.

Trump made the argument that Cheney could understand what it feels like to be in a belligerent setting by pointing a gun at her.

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her there with a gun while nine barrels shoot her, okay?’ Trump said this during a campaign event in Arizona with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “Let’s see how she feels about, you know, having the guns pointed at her face.”

A war hawk is commonly known in political circles as someone who supports foreign military interventions and proactive military actions. Cheney’s father and former Vice President Dick Cheney has been called a war hawk.

Trump’s comment was met with outrage, and Cheney also released a statement quick response to X (formerly Twitter).

“This is how dictators destroy free nations,” she wrote. “They threaten those who speak out against them with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vengeful, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.”

During Thursday’s meeting, Trump also called Cheney “very stupid,” a “stupid person” and “the idiot.”

In response to public outrage over the war comment, the Trump campaign said Friday it might be less aggressive if it were the one doing the fighting.

“President Trump is 100% right when he says that warmongers like Liz Cheney are quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than fighting them themselves,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “This is the continuation of the latest fake media outrage days before the election, in a blatant attempt to interfere on behalf of Kamala Harris.”

Neither Trump, the Cheneys, nor Harris have ever served in the military.

Rivals

Cheney has been an outspoken critic of Trump since his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Riot. She officially endorsed Harris’ campaign against Trump in September, a stunning reversal from Cheney’s previous role as one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress.

Trump made his comments when asked if Cheney’s father also supported Harris’ campaign. Dick Cheney, like his daughter, was known for his conservatism while in public office.

“I don’t blame him for staying with his daughter, but his daughter is a very stupid individual – very stupid,” Trump said.

War hawks

Cheney and her father have been criticized throughout their careers by both Democrats and Republicans for readily supporting the use of U.S. troops for various purposes.

This has been one of Trump’s main criticisms of the Cheneys. Trump has taken a more isolationist approach to foreign policy than the Cheneys with his “America First” agenda.

He claimed Thursday that when Liz Cheney was in the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, “she always wanted to make war with people.”

“You know, they’re all war hawks when they sit in a nice building in Washington and say… ‘Let’s send 10,000 troops right into the enemy’s mouth,’” he said.

Dick Cheney is known as one of the key players in organizing support for the war in Iraq, an affair that has been going on for eight years.

The office of former President George W. Bush, in whose administration Dick Cheney was vice president and Liz Cheney worked at the State Department, declined to comment on Trump’s remarks, according to CNN.

Many of Trump’s critics have accused him of using violent language against his political enemies. In recent weeks he has proposed cracking down on political opponents whom he has described as “the enemy from within.”

Leo Wolfson can be reached at [email protected].