Dick Cheney, Mike Pence Clash

Mike Pence was interviewed by predecessor Dick Cheney at a closed-door retreat over the weekend, and the former vice president did not pull his punches, according to the Washington Post, which has obtained a transcript of the "off-the-record" talk. The Bush administration veteran hit Pence with questions about Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, his wavering commitment to NATO allies, and his tendency to announce major policy moves in Twitter. "I worry that the bottom line of that kind of an approach is we have an administration that looks a lot more like Barack Obama than Ronald Reagan," Cheney said.

The men were speaking at an American Enterprise Institute retreat attended by around 200 top Republican donors, along with lawmakers and GOP-friendly business leaders. Sources tell Politico that Pence defended administration policies, but was taken aback by the tough line of questioning, especially since Cheney apparently ignored a list of agreed-upon subjects. Cheney also criticized Trump's reported decision to have Germany, South Korea, and Japan pay for US deployments there "plus 50% on top of that," the Post reports. "I don't know, that sounded like a New York state real estate deal to me," Cheney said. (More Dick Cheney stories.)