The scene at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday boasted bipartisanship amid remembrance at the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney. In attendance were pews full of former presidents and vice presidents — but neither of the men occupying those offices today.
Why? Neither were on the list for the invitation-only event. In his later years, Cheney had ramped up criticism for President Donald Trump and, in last year’s election, endorsed his Democratic opponent.
A look at who was there — and who wasn’t — for Cheney’s funeral:
George W. Bush
The former president, seated with his wife Laura, eulogized his vice president as “solid and rare and reliable,” praising a man whose “talent and his restraint” exceeded his ego and was “smart and polished, without airs.”
Joe Biden
The Democratic president, who succeeded Cheney as vice president, said his predecessor had given him “extremely helpful” advice and called him a “decent man,” although they disagreed politically. In a statement issued after Cheney’s death, Biden said he had been “guided by a strong set of conservative values” and that “he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end.”
Kamala Harris
The former Democratic vice president and 2024 presidential nominee was seated between Jill Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. She won Cheney’s backing in last year’s general presidential election, with the longtime Republican stalwart saying that Trump can “never be trusted with power again.”
Mike Pence
In an interview with MS NOW before Cheney’s service started, Pence — who attended the service with his wife, Karen — said Cheney had given him “some very good, practical advice” about being vice president. And more recently, pertinent to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol violence in which some of Trump’s supporters called for Pence’s execution, and his refusal to overturn the 2020 election results that showed Trump had lost, Pence said Cheney told him, “You did the right thing.”
Al Gore
The former Democratic vice president, who handed the reins to Cheney after his turn in office — and who lost to Bush and Cheney in the 2000 election and, as president of the Senate, presided over the certification of that loss — was in attendance.
Dan Quayle
Quayle, vice president to George H.W. Bush, has talked about how Cheney’s approach to the role as vice president was more expansive and immersive than his own.
Who isn’t there?
Neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance were in attendance, nor were they invited.
Trump, who has been publicly silent about Cheney’s death Nov. 3, never made a statement on Cheney’s passing and didn’t issue a presidential proclamation that often accompanies the death of notable figures.
Trump regularly criticized Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, who had become one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the Republican Party following his attempts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election.
The White House did lower its flags to half-staff after his death, which press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it did “in accordance with statutory law.”
Appearing at a different event on Thursday, Vance offered his condolences to Cheney’s family and noted the divisions with his fellow Republican.
“Obviously there’s some political disagreements there, but he was a guy who served his country,” Vance said. “We certainly wish his family all the best in this moment of grieving.”
Two former Democratic presidents — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — also weren’t there, although they were invited.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
