MSNBC host Joe Scarborough mourned the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday, noting the Republican’s long political career during which he served as a villain for both Democrats and supporters of President Trump.
“Post-9/11, he was seen as sort of Darth Vader by many people because he supported what many people supported which was called the 1 percent solution … he was determined from that moment on there would never be another 9/11,” Scarborough said on his morning talk show.
Cheney, Scarborough said, “kept his bearings” and “defended Democracy” during Trump’s rise to political power at a time the host said other Republicans “lost their way.”
“He was on the right side, I would say most Republicans from my era would believe,” the host continued. “And I think we all should be grateful to him for that.”
Cheney, 84, died on Monday his family announced, due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
Serving as vice president during former President George W. Bush’s administration from 2001-09, Cheney is widely seen as one of the most influential vice presidents in modern U.S. history, and was also one of the most prominent Republicans to break with Trump.
His daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) emerged after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, as a leading Trump critic and chaired the House Committee that probed the riots. The former lawmaker and her father also threw their support behind former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
A number of top Republicans mourned Cheney’s death on Tuesday, including former President Bush who called his passing “a loss for the nation.”
The White House on Tuesday ordered flags to half-staff in honor of the former vice president. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) also said that Republican leadership staff will review “protocol” about the possibility of Cheney lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda amid the government shutdown.
