President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not in attendance at Dick Cheney's funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington DC on Thursday.
The former Vice President to George Bush passed away on November 3, at the age of 84. Among those who did attend were Bush, who also delivered the eulogy. Former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in the front row, as were Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and John Roberts, ex-chief justice.
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A White House official gave the reason why Trump and Vance were not in attendance.
Why Trump and Vance were not at Cheney's funeral
A White House official stated that neither Trump nor Vance were invited to Cheney's funeral, as per Reuters. Hence, they didn't attend. Trump had not expressed condolences to Cheney's family either. The White House had earlier said they were ‘aware’ of Cheney's passing. Flags had been at half staff.
{{/usCountry}}A White House official stated that neither Trump nor Vance were invited to Cheney's funeral, as per Reuters. Hence, they didn't attend. Trump had not expressed condolences to Cheney's family either. The White House had earlier said they were ‘aware’ of Cheney's passing. Flags had been at half staff.
{{/usCountry}}Vance, meanwhile, had said at a Breitbart news event, Thursday, “My condolences go to Dick Cheney and his family. Obviously, there's some political disagreements there.”
Cheney, when alive, had been a vocal critic of Trump. He'd criticized Trump's false claims of victory in the 2020 presidential elections as well as the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Cheney had even endorsed Trump's Democrat opponent in the 2024 polls, Kamala Harris.
“In our nation's 248 year-history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” he had said.
A video of this has been doing the rounds today amid Trump and Vance's absence from Cheney's funeral.
(With Reuters inputs)