Dick Cheney warned his daughter Rep. Liz Cheney on January 6 that she might not be safe after seeing Trump attack her before the Capitol riot, report says
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- Dick Cheney called his daughter, Liz Cheney, to warn her after Trump singled her out on January 6.
- The controversial former vice president is said to consider Trump an "abysmal" president.
- Liz Cheney was ousted from her GOP leadership position over her opposition to Trump.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney called his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney, on January 6 to warn her of the danger she faced as a recent target of then-President Donald Trump, The New York Times reported.
Liz Cheney has emerged as one of the most adamant critics of Trump in the GOP, losing her place in the party's congressional leadership in May over her opposition to the former president in the wake of the Capitol riot.
Her father and political mentor, Dick Cheney, is no stranger to political controversy and is regarded as a master of the political dark arts. As the Vice President to George W Bush, he was the architect of the US invasion of Iraq.
The new report details how on January 6 Dick Cheney's key concern was for his daughter's safety, prompted when he watched a speech in which Trump, addressing supporters, vowed to get rid of "the Liz Cheneys of the world."
Liz Cheney when she received the call was preparing to deliver a speech acknowledging Joe Biden's victory as president at the congressional certification procedure on the House floor.
Liz Cheney reportedly told her father she would deliver the speech despite being warned that it would inflame hardline Trump supporters.
Moments after the call, pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol, and Liz Cheney along with other lawmakers was ushered to a secure part of the complex by security officials.
In a statement after the riot, Cheney said she backed the second impeachment of Trump, and laid the blame for the unrest with the president.
"There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," she wrote.
The New York Times report also details Dick Cheney's opposition to Trump.
He believes Trump was an "abysmal" president, and was critical of his foreign policy decisions and handling of the COVID-19 crisis, it said.
Trump's political brand was partly formed in opposition to figures like Dick Cheney. Trump criticised the "forever wars" he claimed Cheney and his allies had visited on the US, and instead championed "America First" nationalism.
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