Liz Cheney responds to Donald Trump's statement that guns should be fired at her

Liz Cheney has responded to Donald Trump's statement that guns should be fired at her, describing him as a “cruel, unstable man”.

Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “This is how dictators destroy free nations.”

“We cannot trust our country and our freedom to a small, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.”

Late Thursday, Trump escalated his criticism of Cheney, calling her a “war hawk” and questioning her commitment to sending troops into combat.

Speaking to former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona, he said: “She is a radical war hawk. Let's put her there with the gun firing at her with nine barrels. Okay, let's see how she feels about it. Do you know?” when the guns are pointed at their faces.

He also suggested that if Cheney had his way, the US would be embroiled in conflicts in multiple countries. “If she had her way, we would be in 50 different countries,” Trump claimed.

Trump described the discussion as a criticism of politicians who advocate military intervention from the safety of Washington, DC

He added: “You know they're all war hawks when they sit in a nice building in Washington and say, Oh man, let's send 10,000 troops straight into the jaws of the enemy.”

Newsweek asked Trump's campaign team for comment outside of regular working hours.

In response to the backlash over Trump's comments, his campaign said the former president was criticizing Cheney's willingness to send American troops into combat even though he himself did not serve in the military.

Cheney has supported Trump's opponent Kamala Harris in the presidential election and has appeared with the Democratic candidate at three events in battleground states in recent weeks.

She also previously revealed that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, would also vote for Harris in November.

In a statement released in September, the former vice president said: “In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been a person who has posed a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election by using lies and lies.” Violence to stay in power after voters rejected him, he can never be trusted with power again.

The former congresswoman became one of Trump's harshest critics after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, blaming him for inciting violence.

She was one of only two Republicans on the House special committee investigating the Capitol insurrection and supported impeaching Trump.

Cheney was elected to represent Wyoming in 2016 but lost the 2022 Republican primary to a pro-Trump candidate. She ran on a platform focused on opposing Trump.