Dick Cheney calls Obama the 'worst president of my lifetime'
In a new interview with Playboy, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder of "playing the race card" and said that he could "go on for hours" about all of the ways Obama has "undone" the work of President George W. Bush.
Although the article claims that Cheney's "preoccupations revolve around the books in his study and the purchase of just the right gifts for his grandchildren," it sounds more like he's kind of obsessed with Obama. Calling him "the worst president in my lifetime," Cheney said his criticism of Obama and Holder has nothing to with race and is "merited because of performance — or lack of performance, because of incompetence." He also shared that he was "disappointed" in the Obama administration's response to the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, and said that he's heard from foreign leaders, "especially in the Middle East," that they are "so terribly frustrated, angry, [and] frightened" over Obama's handling of the crisis in Syria. "Our friends no longer trust us, and our adversaries no longer fear us," he said.
Lest you think Cheney only talked about the president, he did take some time out to say the energy policy he helped craft while in office was an "enormous success" and he feels "very good" about what the CIA did after Sept. 11. "We bent over backward to adhere to the law, to not do something that was, quote, 'torture,' et cetera, et cetera.... I don't spend a lot of time worrying what the critics have to say about it."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Pull over for these one-of-a-kind gas stationsThe Week Recommends Fill ’er up next to highland cows and a giant soda bottle
-
Trump tariff uncertainty casts a dark cloud over Black FridayIN THE SPOTLIGHT Retailers and shoppers alike are starting to reassess their seasonal prospects as the Trump administration’s efforts to upturn the global economy start hitting close to home
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
