Trump Calls Dick Cheney 'Great Guy' in Video Resurfaced After 'Coward' Ad

Former President Donald Trump called former Vice President Dick Cheney a "great guy" in a video that resurfaced after he blasted Trump as a "coward" in a reelection campaign ad for his daughter, Representative Liz Cheney.

Representative Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, emerged as one of Trump's top GOP critics following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building when a mob of Trump supporters, motivated by unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, rioted to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory.

Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for his alleged role for inciting the riot and is one of two Republicans to sit on the committee investigating the insurrection. Her sharp rebuke of the ex-president has appeared to invoke the ire of Trump and GOP voters in her district, with Trump endorsing her GOP primary challenger, attorney Harriet Hageman.

Cheney released a new campaign ad this week featuring her father, a Republican who served as vice president from 2001 to 2009 under former President George W. Bush, also criticizing Trump as her reelection odds falter.

"In our nation's 246 year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," he said. "He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters rejected him. He is a coward—a real man wouldn't lie to his supporters."

As the campaign ad went viral, being viewed nearly 8 million times as of Saturday morning, an older video of Trump praising Vice President Cheney in 2018 resurfaced on Twitter.

During a meeting with members of Congress on June 20, 2018, Trump is seen speaking amicably with the congresswoman, as well as Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who has also become a staunch Trump critic following the 2020 election. The video was posted by C-SPAN Communications Director Howard Mortman and had been viewed more than 20,000 times.

Trump and Cheney were discussing defense policy, with Cheney providing updates on House Republicans' plans to pass an appropriations bill, when the then-president asked her to tell her father he said hello.

"Thank you, Liz," he said. "And say hello to your father please. Great guy."

The resurfaced video reveals the extent to which tensions between Trump and more traditional conservatives have grown in recent years following the riot. The former president also faced criticism from those seen as part of the GOP's establishment, but the two wings of the party largely unified to pass conservative goals during Trump's tenure as president. However, relations between Trump and some members of the GOP soured significantly after January 6, 2021.

Soured Trump-Cheney Relations Could Sink Her Reelection Bid

The video resurfaced less than two weeks ahead of Cheney's toughest election to date, where she will face Trump-backed Hageman in Wyoming's at-large congressional district, which gave Trump nearly 70 percent of the vote in 2020.

Despite floundering poll numbers among the general electorate, Trump remains popular with large swaths of Republican voters, with candidates seeking out his endorsement to boost their popularity among his voters. Polls indicate that Hageman is favored to defeat Cheney in what would be a sting for anti-Trump Republicans.

A poll from the Casper Star-Tribune conducted from July 7 to 11 showed Hageman winning the support of 52 percent among likely primary voters, while only 30 percent said they planned to vote for Cheney.

Polls suggest Cheney could be the third House Republican who voted to impeach Trump to lose renomination. Representatives Tom Rice of South Carolina and Peter Meijer of Michigan both lost their primaries to Trump-endorsed challengers, while four pro-impeachment Republicans declined to run for reelection.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's office for comment.