Dick Cheney’s last major public outing before his death Monday was supporting his daughter, former GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney, as she railed against Republican leaders for treating President Trump like a “king” in a blistering 2022 speech.
Cheney, 84, who died Monday from complications from pneumonia as well as cardiac and vascular disease, supported his daughter when she delivered a stern rebuke of Trump a September 2022 event by the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
“Those who are protecting Donald Trump — elected leaders of my party — are now willing to,” Liz fumed in the speech, “pretend that taking top-secret SCI documents and keeping them in a desk drawer in an office in Mar-a-Lago, or in an unsecured location anywhere, was somehow not a problem.”
“Bit by bit, excuse by excuse, we’re putting Donald Trump above the law. We are rendering indefensible conduct normal, legal and appropriate — as though he were a king.”
The 46th vice president had been in the audience alongside his wife to stand by Liz as she grappled with the changing dynamics of the GOP and became something of a pariah within the party.
Just a few weeks prior to that outing, Cheney had cut a scathing ad, in which he was donning a cowboy hat, lacing into Trump as a “coward,” and mounting a fiery attack on the 45th and now 47th president.
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual that was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney chided in the Aug. 5, 2022, ad.
“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 — and she will succeed.”
However, two weeks after Cheney rolled out the ad, marking a rare venture back into the political fray for him, his daughter was bested in a primary by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), who had Trump’s backing in the GOP primary.
Liz had been a rising figure among the Republican Party, having climbed to the House GOP Conference Chair role, making her the No. 3 House Republican before getting pushed out in 2021 for her turn against Trump.
She had publicly rebuked Trump for his role in the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and later became the vice chair of the since-defunct House Select Jan. 6 Committee.
On Jan. 6, 2022 — the one-year anniversary of the ransacking of the Capitol — Cheney visited the Capitol to support his daughter and mark the solemn occasion.
Trump, for his part, became a fierce critic of the Cheneys, castigating them as warmongers and blaming the 46th vice president in particular for the US getting entangled in Iraq.
In September of last year, both of the Cheneys publicly endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in her 2024 bid for the presidency.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a statement at the time.
“He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”
Cheney is survived by his wife and two daughters.
