Dick Cheney Made Public Statements on His Feelings About Donald Trump
Trump took a verbal swing at Cheney's daughter, and the former Vice President had some words to offer in return.
Published Nov. 4 2025, 3:03 p.m. ET
When it comes to the Republican Party, 2025 seems to present a monolith. Everyone seems to be squarely behind and in support of the Republican president, Donald Trump. At least, they present a unified front.
But what about some of the Old Guard Republicans? People from administrations past, who don't necessarily align with Trump's views of what America should be?
This Old Guard includes former presidents and, of course, former vice presidents, such as Dick Cheney. For those who have been keeping track of former vice presidents, Kamala Harris's opinions on Trump are fairly straightforward. But what about Cheney? Did he support Trump? Here's what we know about his very vocal opinions on Trump and how they were likely shaped by his daughter, Liz Cheney.
Did Dick Cheney support Donald Trump?
After Cheney and the president he served, George W. Bush, left office, it seemed like the former Senator disappeared from the public eye. With a controversial time in office, it's no wonder that Cheney wanted a little peace and quiet after leaving the White House.
But he returned to lend his voice to the public discourse when Trump ran for office again in 2024. And you might be surprised by what he had to say.
In an ad that ran ahead of the 2024 election, per Today, Cheney spoke to the camera wearing a cowboy hat. He said bluntly, "In our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump." He added, "He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power."
Cheney's pushback against Trump came after the presidential hopeful took aim at Cheney's daughter, Liz, for her criticisms of Trump and her effort in the Jan. 6 Congressional hearings.
Trump said Liz "is a very dumb individual, very dumb. She's a radical war hawk. 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" (excerpt via CBS News).
Liz was praised by Democrats and Republicans alike ahead of the 2024 election as she "put party over country," in the words of former VP Harris.
Cheney died at 84, leaving behind a complicated legacy.
It's safe to say that Cheney was not a huge fan of Trump. And he was praised for standing up for his daughter after Trump's attacks.
But Cheney's legacy was a complex one, to say the least.
Although he spent his final years mostly ducking the public eye, he was once front and center of the United States' efforts to invade Iraq and Afghanistan in a post-9/11 world. Declaring that Saddam Hussein hid "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (WMDs), Cheney was one of the strongest voices in support of ground forces in Iraq (via USA Today).
As Pew Research notes, the war efforts were originally popular among Americans. But by the late 2010s, a majority of Americans (62 percent) say they did not believe it was worth fighting.
And Cheney's legacy was tied inextricably to those war efforts, with many Americans blaming him for the language and vitriol that prompted the Iraq war in the first place.
Cheney died in November 2025 at the age of 84, leaving behind a very complicated legacy, including two daughters and five grandchildren.