Trump says ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should have ‘guns trained on her face’

Donald Trump suggested former US lawmaker Liz Cheney should face combat with guns trained on her, comments his campaign said were intended to criticise her as a warmonger but which critics condemned as evidence he would target his enemies if he wins the US presidential election.

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there, with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face,” Trump said at a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday.

Trump also criticised others in Washington who support US involvement in foreign conflicts.

“They’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building, saying, ‘Oh, gee, well, let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy,’” he said.

Cheney, a former top Republican in the US House of Representatives, is one of the most prominent Republicans to turn against Trump during his third consecutive bid for the presidency.

She has endorsed Democratic US Vice-President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election and has campaigned with her.