In Context: What Trump said about Cheney facing a firing squad

EXPLAINER

With wide interpretations of Trump’s remarks, we reappraisal his comments successful their archetypal context. So what did helium accidental — and what did helium apt mean?

Former US President Donald Trump called erstwhile US Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney a “radical warfare hawk” and said she should spot however it feels to look guns “trained connected her face”.

Trump made the comments to erstwhile Fox News big Tucker Carlson astatine an October 31 run lawsuit successful Glendale, Arizona. Carlson asked Trump whether it was “weird” for him to spot Cheney, the girl of erstwhile Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, campaigning against him. Liz Cheney has vocally supported Kamala Harris, the Democratic statesmanlike candidate, and her begetter besides said helium would ballot for Harris.

With wide interpretations of Trump’s remarks, we reappraisal his comments successful their archetypal context. So what did helium accidental – and what did helium apt mean?

Trump’s reply to Carlson’s question lasted respective minutes and covered his feelings astir erstwhile President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney; the pardon of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was a erstwhile Dick Cheney aide; and the US House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 assault connected the US Capitol.

Trump’s comments astir Liz Cheney and a firing squad drew the astir nationalist attention.

When asked astir Liz Cheney campaigning for Harris, Trump said, “Well, I deliberation it hurts Kamala a lot. Actually. Look, [Cheney is] a deranged person. The crushed she doesn’t similar maine is that she wanted to enactment successful Iraq.”

Trump covered galore different topics, past said, “I don’t privation to spell to war. [Liz Cheney] wanted to go, she wanted to enactment successful Syria. I took [troops] out. She wanted to enactment successful Iraq. I took them out. I mean, if it were up to her, we’d beryllium successful 50 antithetic countries. And you know, fig one, it’s precise dangerous. Number two, a batch of radical get killed. And fig three, I mean, it’s very, precise expensive.”

Republican statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump participates successful a fireside chat with Tucker Carlson astatine ‘Tucker Carlson Live connected Tour’ astatine Desert Diamond Arena successful Glendale, Arizona, connected October 31, 2024 [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

Later, Trump added, “I don’t blasted [Dick Cheney] for sticking with his daughter, but his girl is simply a precise dumb individual, precise dumb. She is simply a extremist warfare hawk. Let’s enactment her with a firearm lasting determination with 9 barrels shooting astatine her, OK? Let’s spot however she feels astir it. You know, erstwhile the guns are trained connected her face.”

Liz Cheney replied connected November 1 connected X: “This is however dictators destruct escaped nations. They endanger those who talk against them with death. We cannot entrust our state and our state to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable antheral who wants to beryllium a tyrant.” Her station included the hashtags #Womenwillnotbesilenced and #VoteKamala.

Some people, including erstwhile Republican statesmanlike campaigner and Illinois typical Joe Walsh, a Trump critic, said Trump’s main constituent was astir Liz Cheney’s stance connected war.

Trump’s run defended his remarks, publishing aggregate statements:

• Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wrote connected November 1 connected X: “To each FAKE NEWS newsman taking President Trump’s words retired of context: President Trump was CLEARLY explaining that warmongers similar Liz Cheney are precise speedy to commencement wars and nonstop different Americans to combat them, alternatively than spell into combat themselves.
• In a November 1 connection to the press, the Trump run wrote, “The property has been disgracefully covering these remarks by saying that President Trump suggested that Liz Cheney should beryllium enactment successful beforehand of a ‘firing squad’. Are these reporters malicious oregon dumb? President Trump was intelligibly describing a combat zone.”
• In different November 1 connection to the press, the run wrote, “Nowhere did President Trump suggest War Hawk Liz Cheney beryllium enactment successful beforehand of a ‘firing squad’, beryllium ‘executed’, oregon beryllium ‘shot’ — helium was making the constituent that War Hawks are speedy to commencement endless overseas wars and nonstop different Americans to fight, with zero respect for the quality cost.”

In 2002, Dick Cheney made the George W. Bush administration’s lawsuit for preemptive subject enactment against Iraq based connected allegations astir weapons of wide destruction. In 2007, the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit probe subdivision of the Pentagon’s Joint Forces Command, completed an assessment of the Bush administration’s rationale, basing its conclusions connected much than fractional a cardinal captured Iraqi documents. That survey “found nary ‘smoking gun’ (i.e., nonstop connection) betwixt Saddam’s Iraq and al-Qaida”.

When Liz Cheney represented Wyoming arsenic a Republican successful Congress, she supported Trump’s legislative docket portion helium was president but broke with him aft the January 6, 2021, battle connected the Capitol. She dismissed Trump’s mendacious claims of a fraudulent 2020 predetermination and has blamed him for inciting the Capitol riot.

Cheney served connected the US House January 6 prime committee that held nationalist hearings astir the riot. She mislaid her reelection bid successful 2022.