During an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Arizona, former President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that former Rep. Liz Cheney — one of his highest-profile Republican critics — should be shot for being a “radical war hawk.” 

On stage, Carlson asked Trump how he felt watching Cheney, whom the conservative media host described as “Dick Cheney’s repulsive little daughter,” campaign against him alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. Cheney has joined Harris on the campaign trail to display political unity in an appeal to moderate Republicans and never-Trumpers. 

“Well, I think it hurts Kamala a lot, actually. Look, she’s a deranged person,” Trump said. “But the reason she couldn’t stand me is that she always wanted to go to war with people. I don’t want to go to war. She wanted to stay in Syria. I took ’em out. She wanted to stay in Iraq. I took ’em out. If it were up to her, we would be in 50 different countries.” 

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there, with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it when the guns are trained on her face,” he said. 

In response on Friday, Cheney likened Trump’s comments to a death threat. 

“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. #Womenwillnotbesilenced #VoteKamala,” Cheney posted on X, formerly Twitter. 

Cheney lost her seat in Congress in 2022 after becoming an outspoken Trump critic. She was the top House Republican on the committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection.  

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head and critically injured in 2011 while meeting with constituents in Arizona, condemned Trump’s comments on Friday. She previously condemned “all political violence” following one of the assassination attempts against Trump, describing the incident as an “indefensible act of violence.” 

Following Trump’s remarks about Cheney, Giffords similarly denounced Trump’s suggestion that Cheney should be shot. 

“Declaring that a person should be shot and killed simply for supporting a different candidate is un-American. Any Republican who claims to respect the constitution and rule of law has a responsibility to speak out against Donald Trump’s dangerous comments immediately,” Giffords said in a statement.

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