During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press over the weekend, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) went after his fellow Republicans who have aligned themselves with the cultishness of Donald Trump rather than with the truth. Kinzinger addressed this topic amid a discussion about the events of January 6 and shortly beyond, when supporters of then-President Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building and 147 Republicans across both chambers of Congress voted against certifying Biden’s presidential election victories in certain states. To this day, even with the real-world example via the Capitol riot of what Trump’s lies about election integrity can inspire, top Republicans continue to foster election conspiracy theories. Their election lies enable insurrection. As Kinzinger put it, leaders “have” to “tell people the truth.”
Asked about a move by a county GOP in Oklahoma to censure the state’s two Republican Senators for not voting against the certification of Biden’s win, Kinzinger commented as follows:
‘Here’s what’s happened: It’s just like Donald Trump’s method, right? I mean, the biggest enemy to MAGA-world right now is not even me or Liz Cheney, it’s Mike Pence. Mike Pence is one of the most faithful people to Donald Trump, but if you ever turn an ounce against Donald Trump, you’re out of the tribe. And so to all of my colleagues in politics, let me say this to you. You either have to be a zombie for the MAGA belief system, whatever that is today or tomorrow — it varies every day based on Donald Trump’s whims — or actually stand up and tell your constituents the truth. And that’s what we have to do, is tell people the truth.’
Watch Kinzinger below:
WATCH: Rep. Kinzinger says attacks on fmr. V.P. Pence shows that if you “turn an ounce against Donald Trump, you’re out of the tribe.” #MTP@RepKinzinger: “You either have to be a zombie for the MAGA belief system … or actually stand up and tell your constituents the truth.” pic.twitter.com/XZsftQk2Pv
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 11, 2021
On January 6, Trump had sought to pressure Pence into intervening to stop the certification of Biden’s victory, but the then-vice president did not actually have the power to do so and refused to behave as though he possessed such a legally recognized ability. Instead, Pence presided over the eventual Congressional certification of Biden’s win without trying to halt the process. Nowhere in the country has any legitimate evidence of systematic election fraud ever emerged — but reality hasn’t yet stopped Trump and certain top allies of his, and it certainly does not seem poised to now. There are serious consequences to their behavior. On January 6, parts of the riot crowd chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” because of his perceived disloyalty to Trump, and an actual gallows was put up outside the Capitol. What if Trump’s supporters who were there that day had been able to reach the then-vice president, who in fact only just barely evaded them?
