Liz Cheney slams Trump after he says guns should be 'pointed at her face'

Topline

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., responded Friday after former President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that she should point guns “at her face” because the former lawmaker has become an outspoken anti-Trump and Trump has used increasingly violent rhetoric, threatening retaliation against his political enemies.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., appears at “Meet the Press” in Washington DC on October 13.

William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images

Important facts

Trump called Cheney a “stupid person” and a “very stupid person” in comments on stage at an event with ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson on Thursday night and suggested: “Let's put her there with a gun with nine barrels at her.” shoot.”

The ex-president spoke about Cheney being a “radical war hawk” and complained that politicians are war hawks “when they sit in a nice building in Washington,” adding, “Let's see what (Cheney) “You know that when the guns are pointed at her face.”

Cheney responded to Trump's comments early Friday on

“We cannot trust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant,” Cheney added, ending her statement with a hashtag in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Cheney, a longtime GOP lawmaker and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, became a vocal Trump opponent after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, supporting Harris and campaigning alongside her ahead of the presidential election.

tangent

Dick Cheney also came out in support of Harris ahead of Election Day, calling Trump a “threat to our republic” and saying that Americans “have a duty to put our country above partisanship and defend our Constitution.” Trump responded on stage with Carlson before attacking the younger Cheney, saying he “doesn't blame Dick Cheney for holding on to his daughter.” The ex-president has previously made harsher statements against the former vice president. He called him a “fool” on Truth Social after he endorsed Harris and criticized the U.S.'s “ridiculous trip to the Middle East” during Cheney's time in the White House.

Important background

Trump has come under fire for his increasingly violent rhetoric ahead of Election Day, as the former president has vowed revenge against his enemies if he wins and announced plans for harsh measures such as the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. He suggested that “a day of violence” in the United States would bring an end to crime, saying, for example, that its mass deportations would be “a bloody story.” He described Democrats and his political rivals as “enemies from within” and suggested any opposition “should be handled very easily by the National Guard or the military.” The former president has also repeatedly criticized Cheney for becoming one of the most prominent anti-Trump conservatives, calling her a “low-IQ war hawk” and “one of the dumber people in politics.” Cheney and her father are among a growing number of conservatives who have endorsed Harris ahead of Election Day, along with figures such as former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Bush-era Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Jimmy McCain . Son of the late Senator John McCain.