Foremost U.S. Vice President Who Battled Islamic Extremists Dies at 84
Foremost U.S. Vice President Who Battled Islamic Extremists Dies at 84
Foremost U.S. Vice President Who Battled Islamic Extremists Dies at 84
Dick Cheney, long regarded as the most influential vice president in American history, and a central figure in George W. Bush’s administration during an era defined by terrorism, war, and sweeping economic change, has died at the age of 84.
According to a statement from his family, the cause of death was complications arising from pneumonia and long-standing cardiac and vascular disease. Cheney, who had struggled with heart problems for most of his adult life, suffered five heart attacks between 1978 and 2010 and had used a device to regulate his heartbeat since 2001. Despite his health challenges, his effectiveness in office remained largely undiminished.
In 2012, three years after leaving public office, Cheney underwent a successful heart transplant and remained relatively active in his later years.
In one of his final public acts, he stunned Americans across party lines by announcing his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in the 2024 presidential election. He denounced her Republican rival, former President Donald J. Trump, as “unfit for the Oval Office” and a “grave threat to American democracy.”
“We have a duty to put country above partisanship and defend our Constitution,” Cheney said at the time.
His statement mirrored that of his daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, who broke with Mr. Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. She, too, pledged to vote for Ms. Harris.
As vice presidents go, Cheney was a singular figure—arguably the most powerful yet least personally ambitious for higher office in modern American history
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