Liz Cheney described Donald Trump as a “cruel, unstable man” after the former president told her to “point guns at her face.”

“This is how dictators destroy free nations,” the former Wyoming representative wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “They threaten death with those who speak out against them. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vengeful, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.”

At an event on Thursday, Trump branded Cheney, a vocal critic of the former president, a “war hawk” and questioned her commitment to sending troops into battle.

Speaking to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate said: “She is a radical war hawk. Let’s put her there with the gun while nine barrels shoot at her. Okay, let’s see what she thinks about it. “You know, when the guns are pointed at her face.”

He also suggested that if Cheney had his way, the United States would be involved in conflicts in “50 different countries.”

Trump described the discussion as a criticism of politicians who advocate military intervention from the safety of Washington, DC

“You know they’re all war hawks when they sit in a nice building in Washington and say, oh gee, let’s send 10,000 troops right into the enemy’s mouth,” Trump said.

Newsweek contacted Trump’s campaign for comment outside regular business hours.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Cheney, who he previously said should “go to jail.”

Cheney has endorsed Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the presidential election and has appeared with the Democratic candidate at three events in battleground states in recent weeks.

She has urged anti-Trump Republicans to vote for Harris, describing the former president as a threat to democracy.

Cheney’s father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, said he is also voting for Harris.

In a statement released in September, Cheney, who served as vice president under George W. Bush, said: “In our country’s 248-year history, there has never been anyone who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after voters rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”

During Thursday’s event, Trump said of Dick Cheney, “I don’t blame him for staying with his daughter, but his daughter is a very stupid individual.”

The former representative became one of Trump’s fiercest critics after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, blaming him for inciting the violence.

She was one of only two Republicans on the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot and supported Trump’s impeachment over it.

Cheney was elected to represent Wyoming in 2016, but lost the 2022 Republican primary to a pro-Trump candidate. She ran on a platform that focused on opposition to Trump.

Cheney is one of several prominent Republicans who have done so openly criticism of the former president. His other critics include several former officials who served in his White House.

Update 01/24/11, 10:35 AM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.