USA Trump takes a swipe at Liz Cheney - judiciary considers steps
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hurls insults at Liz Cheney after criticizing his statements about the party's internal opponent. "I'm just saying she was a crazy warmonger. She wants to go to war with anybody who moves," Trump said. He defended his statement that Cheney looked down the barrel of nine guns during a firefight. Meanwhile, the judiciary in the US state of Arizona, where the 78-year-old had verbally attacked Cheney, is considering legal action against Trump.
02.11.2024, 18:40
SDA
On Saturday morning (local time), Trump was connected by telephone to the breakfast show of his home and court channel Fox News. He held a kind of monologue for almost 30 minutes, often not answering the presenters' questions but talking about whatever he felt like. He praised the show, complimented the presenters who were sympathetic to him and claimed that almost all other media outlets were corrupt. Trump regularly joins this and other Fox News broadcasts by telephone.
The presenters now asked Trump about his statement about Cheney and asked whether he wanted to take legal action against media outlets that allegedly took his words out of context. Trump did not answer the question - but used the time for rampant tirades about Cheney. "She's probably worse than her father because she's not as smart," he said. Cheney is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. She is a "crazy warmonger" - a "maniac, just like her father". Trump went on to say: "She always wanted to go to war with everybody. If somebody put one foot in the wrong direction, she wanted to blow them away."
Trump defends himself against criticism
At a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday, Trump had spoken about having Cheney look into nine firing "gun barrels" during a firefight. The former US president argued that Cheney himself was quick to seek the solution to conflicts in combat operations, so he would like to experience them himself with a weapon in a battle. Trump now said of this statement on Fox News: "I said put a gun in her hand and let her go out and let her face the enemy with a gun in her hand." He would face her with "nine, twelve or a hundred" people. "I said, 'Let's see how she acts. Because I say she wouldn't have the guts to do it."
The Arizona attorney general has instructed the legal department to investigate Trump's statement for possible criminal liability. "I have already asked my chief of the criminal division to review this statement to see if it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona law," the state's attorney general told regional broadcaster 12News. At this point, however, she could not say whether Trump's statement violated the law. The Attorney General's spokesperson confirmed to US media that Trump's statement was under review.
Cheney has often been criticized for her interventionist foreign policy position. After the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the then congresswoman renounced Trump. She paid a high price for this in the Republican Party. She was ousted from top positions and ultimately lost her congressional seat. The conservative politician is now supporting the Democrat Harris.
Trump: Could get a nice tan at the booth
Trump also used the Fox News broadcast to attack his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, calling her "incompetent". Trump said that nobody knows what the US Vice President should be called: "Vice President or Harris or Kamala - whatever you want to call her." Most people don't even know who they are talking about, he said. Harris and Trump are running against each other in the US presidential election on Tuesday (November 5) - it's going to be a close race, the two are roughly tied in the polls.
When asked why Trump is running at all, the businessman said: "I could be on a beach somewhere. The beautiful waves would be slapping the beautiful salt water in my face. So beautiful. I could get a nice tan, my beautiful skin would be beautifully tanned." But he wouldn't even think about doing that because he wanted to save the country.
