Cheney’s political legacy is mixed in Wyoming

He long served his home state, but his criticism of Trump has hurt his standing.

- By MEAD GRUVER

DICK CHENEY helps open a Grand Teton National Park visitor center in 2007.

(Michael G. Seamans Jackson Hole News & Guide)

Political stars often rise and fall, but few have had a more dramatic trajectory than Dick Cheney in his home state of Wyoming.

Hours after Cheney's death was announced Tuesday, the state lowered flags at the Republican governor’s order. Some politicians in the state offered at times measured praise of the former vice president.

But among a large majority of voters in Wyoming, Cheney has been persona non grata for more than five years now, his reputation brought down amid President Trump’s withering politics.

Trump has criticized Cheney for the drawn-out and costly Iraq war, and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), for saying Trump should never be allowed back in the White House after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

This resonated with many residents, including Jeanine Stebbing of Cheyenne, whose last straw was the idea that Trump shouldn't be reelected.

“There was no openmindedness. Nothing about how, ‘We understand that our neighbors here are supportive of Trump.’ Just the idea that we were all stupid, is what it felt like,” Stebbing said Tuesday.