 "Dick Cheney, George Bush’s vice president and key Iraq war figure, dies at 84")
Richard B. “Dick” Cheney, a towering figure in Republican politics who served as the 46th Vice President of the United States under President George W. Bush, has died. He was 84.
The news was initially reported on Tuesday by Punchbowl News, with subsequent confirmations from the former Vice President’s family. According to a family statement, Cheney passed away on Monday night due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. He was surrounded by his wife, Lynne, and his daughters, Liz and Mary.
Cheney was widely regarded as one of the most powerful and consequential vice presidents in US history, playing a crucial, behind-the-scenes role in the Bush administration’s foreign and domestic policy, particularly in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
He built a lasting presence in Republican politics, even after dropping out of Yale and avoiding military service during Vietnam.
He started out as a young aide in Richard Nixon’s White House, became the youngest chief of staff under Gerald Ford, and later represented Wyoming in Congress during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
By the time he became George W. Bush’s vice president in 2001, he had already survived three heart attacks and run Halliburton, the oil giant.
His daughter, Liz Cheney, followed him into politics, winning the same Wyoming seat he once held. But she broke from her party when she publicly condemned Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol riot, showing just how far the Republican Party had shifted from her father’s era.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsCheney has openly expressed his serious disappointment with the current Republican leaders, saying they are nothing like the leaders he worked with years ago.
Taking his break from the party further, Cheney announced in 2024 that he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris instead of Republican Donald Trump. He explained this decision by saying that in America’s 248-year history, “no individual… is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.” Cheney emphasised that he felt it was his duty to “put country above partisanship” to protect the Constitution.
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