Former vice presidents are reacting to the recent death of Dick Cheney, former President George W. Bush’s vice president, who leaves behind a controversial legacy.
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney,” former Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday afternoon in a post on the social platform X.
“Vice President Cheney was a devoted public servant, from the halls of Congress to many positions of leadership in multiple presidential administrations,” she added. “His passing marks the loss of a figure who, with a strong sense of dedication, gave so much of his life to the country he loved.”
Cheney, who was one of the most powerful American political figures within the last 100 years, died Monday at age 84, his family announced Tuesday morning. They said the cause was pneumonia complications and cardiac and vascular disease.
Former President Biden, who served as former President Obama’s vice president, said in his own X post that “Dick Cheney devoted his life to public service — from representing Wyoming in Congress, to serving as Secretary of Defense, and later as Vice President of the United States.”
“While we didn’t agree on much, he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end. Jill and I send our love to his wife Lynne, their daughters Liz and Mary, and all of their grandchildren,” he added.
Cheney is considered one of the most impactful vice presidents in recent American history, having assisted in leading the U.S.’s “war on terror” and shaping the argument for the U.S. to go to war in Iraq in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Bush administration members including Cheney dealt with intense criticism after the U.S. invaded Iraq on the basis of false claims the country had weapons of mass destruction.
President Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, said Tuesday on X that he and his wife “were saddened to learn of Vice President Dick Cheney’s passing and express our deepest sympathies and prayers to Lynne and the entire Cheney family.”
“Dick Cheney first represented Wyoming in Congress and went on to serve with distinction alongside three American presidents, as White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States,” Pence added.