The 'Republic' Strikes Back: Dick Cheney calls Trump 'coward,' says he lied to supporters, threatens democracy

Former Vice President Dick Cheney in a campaign ad for daughter GOP Rep. Liz Cheney calls former President Trump a “coward” and says no one has ever been a "greater threat to our republic" than Trump.

Cheney made the comments in a video released Thursday for his daughter's reelection campaign. She is seeking reelection as Wyoming's only House member and is in a tough primary on Aug. 16, in large part because of backlash to her opposition to Trump in the strongly conservative state. 

Liz Cheney voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and is co-chairwoman of the Democrat-led House committee investigating the incident.

Echoing the criticism his daughter has made of Trump, Dick Cheney denounced Trump as a danger to the country through his relentless lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, according to the Associated Press. 

"In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," said Cheney, who was vice president in the George W. Bush administration. "He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him.

"He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big. I know it, he knows it, and deep down, I think most Republicans know it."

The 81-year-old Cheney also in the video lauds his daughter for "standing up for the truth, doing what’s right, honoring her oath to the constitution, when so many in our party are too scared to do so."