President Donald Trump Was Not at Dick Cheney's Funeral and We Think We Know Why

A little more than two weeks after former Vice President Dick Cheney died at the age of 84, his funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. This particular church has been the site of numerous state funerals, including but not limited to Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter.

A state funeral is usually attended by high-ranking government officials, foreign dignitaries, family members, and friends. For example, all five living United States presidents attended Carter's funeral in January 2025. It's pretty unusual for a sitting president to skip a state funeral, but President Donald Trump was suspiciously absent from Cheney's. Why was he not invited? Here's what we know.

According to a report from Axios, Trump's lack of invitation was intentional. Although we can't confirm why, it stands to reason his snub has something to do with Cheney's criticism of the president in a 2022 campaign ad for his daughter. Liz Cheney was running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Wyoming's At-Large Congressional District, a race she ultimately lost. Unfortunately, her father's cache didn't help.

In the ad, Cheney called Trump a threat to our republic. "He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him," said Cheney. "He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big." He also applauded his daughter for standing up to Trump when she agreed to serve as the top Republican on the House Jan. 6 select committee.

Although Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not in attendance, a few members of the Republican Party did pay their respects to Cheney. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who incurred Trump's wrath after he certified the 2020 election, was at the service with his wife, Karen. According to the Associated Press, when Pence refused to overturn the 2020 election results, Cheney told him, "You did the right thing."

Former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dan Quayle, who served with Bush's father, were both at Cheney's funeral. "He was everything a president should expect in his second in command," said Bush. "I remember my dad’s words when I told him what I was planning. He said, ‘Son, you couldn’t pick a better man.'"

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell were at the funeral. Images of Graham appearing to joke with former Vice President Kamala Harris circulated online. Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, as well as Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and John Roberts were also seen at the service.

A source close to former President Barack Obama told People that he and the former first lady would not be attending Cheney's funeral. Obama flew solo to Carter's funeral in January 2025.

The Obamas did not say why they were missing Cheney's funeral. Two days after Cheney died, Obama shared their condolences on Facebook, writing, "Although Dick Cheney and I represented very different political traditions, I respected his life-long devotion to public service and his deep love of country."