Unrepentant Trump defends calls for "war hawk" Cheney to face gunfire

• Cheney, once one of the highest ranking members of the GOP, has long been one of Trump's fiercest critics. She endorsed Vice President Harris and campaigned for the Democrat over the last month.

Driving the news: During an event in Arizona moderated by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday night, Trump assailed Cheney as "very dumb" and a "radical war hawk."

• "Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face," Trump added.
• Trump said he was was criticizing "war hawks sitting in Washington" while sending U.S. troops abroad.

Cheney responded in a post on X Friday morning, writing: "This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death."

• "We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant," she added.

State of play: Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pushed back later Friday, defending Trump's assertion.

• Trump was "100% correct that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves," Leavitt said.
• She also condemned the backlash to the comments, calling it an example of "fake media outrage" attempting "to interfere on behalf of Kamala Harris" in the 2024 election.

Flashback: Cheney served as the vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and her criticism of Trump made her a pariah within the House GOP.

• Cheney was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Go deeper: Trump's "enemies within" list