This Tuesday morning, the news broke that the powerful and historic former Republican vice president has passed away
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Dick Cheney, one of the most influential and controversial figures in the Republican Party and former Vice President of the United States during both terms of George W. Bush,died Monday night at age 84 due to complications from pneumonia and heart and vascular diseases, his family reported Tuesday.
In a statement, the Cheney family noted that the former Vice President died surrounded by his wife Lynne, to whom he had been married for 61 years, and his daughters, Liz and Mary. "Dick Cheney was a noble and good man who taught his family to love our country and to live with courage, honor, and kindness," the family said.
Former President George W. Bush mourned his death, calling it "a loss for the nation and a sadness for his friends." "History will remember him as one of the most outstanding public servants of his generation," Bush said, who highlighted the "intelligence, loyalty, and integrity" of his former Vice President.
Cheney played a decisive role in Bush's administration, especially after the September 11, 2001, attacks. He was one of the main advocates of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, pointing to the regime of Saddam Hussein's links with Al Qaeda and the possession of weapons of mass destruction.
El exvicepresidente fue una figura muy poderosa en el Partido Republicano en su mandato junto a George W. Bush
His strong defense of anti-terrorism policies, his support for enhanced interrogations, and his emphasis on executive power made him a symbol of the Republican Party's hardest line.
For many, he was the real power behind Bush's presidency; for others, a strategist who protected the United States in times of crisis. His figure was so controversial that it even inspired the film Vice (2018), in which actor Christian Bale portrayed him as a political manipulator operating in the shadows.
Born January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was raised in Wyoming. After leaving Yale, he earned degrees in Political Science from the University of Wyoming. His career in Washington began in 1969, and he quickly rose to become White House Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford. He was later a congressman for Wyoming (1979-1989) and Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, leading the military operation during the Gulf War.
Cheney fue jefe de gabinete del republicano Gerald Ford
Cheney distanced himself from his party on social issues, such as same-sex marriage, by defending that it should be decided at the state level. His youngest daughter, Mary, is a lesbian, and that position marked one of his few public differences with President Bush.
With fragile health, he suffered five heart attacks and received a heart transplant in 2012, Cheney remained a relevant figure after leaving office. In 2006, he was involved in a notorious accident when, during a hunting trip in Texas, he accidentally shot a friend, making him the subject of national ridicule.
In recent years, Cheney distanced himself drastically from Donald Trump. The president called him a "warmonger" responsible for the "endless wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cheney, meanwhile, accused him of being "the greatest threat to the republic in the country's history." In 2024, in an unprecedented move, he announced that he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris instead of Trump.
El presidente Trump no mantuvo una buena relación con el exvicepresidente en los últimos años
