Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ariz.) was not impressed by a familiarly delusional rally speech that former President Donald Trump delivered in Arizona over the weekend. On Twitter, Kinzinger responded to a particular clip that showed Trump ranting about the mainstream media’s coverage of his false claims about the 2020 presidential election, which the former president continues to lie about, claiming it to have been somehow rigged for Joe Biden. Media sources — excluding obvious culprits, like some portions of the Fox News line-up and far-right outlets like Newsmax and the like — have accurately characterized the ex-president’s election claims as not based in reality, which Trump, of course, keeps working himself into a rage over.
The clip that Kinzinger shared depicted attendees at Trump’s weekend rally cheering as Trump meandered through his list of complaints, including an insistence that “the big lie is a lot of bullshit.” (Observers have referred to Trump’s election falsehoods collectively as “the big lie.”) Kinzinger pointedly asked as follows:
‘For the life of me I cannot fathom how so many knowingly get fed garbage and cheer it? What kind of self esteem do you have to have to cheer this con artist? such weakness… Best quote I’ve heard in a while to describe the shallowness of Trump (apologies i forgot who said this): “If Trump could trade his base for [Obama’s] base he would in a heartbeat.” Does anyone REALLY doubt that?’
In other words, it’s clear that Trump isn’t some kind of sincere champion of his supporters — by all appearances, he’s in it for the grift. See Kinzinger’s comments below:
For the life of me I cannot fathom how so many knowingly get fed garbage and cheer it? What kind of self esteem do you have to have to cheer this con artist? ⬇️⬇️. such weakness https://t.co/gX7LPSzLsr
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) January 16, 2022
Best quote I’ve heard in a while to describe the shallowness of Trump (apologies i forgot who said this):
“If Trump could trade his base for Obama base he would in a heartbeat.” Does anyone REALLY doubt that?
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) January 16, 2022
Kinzinger is among the comparatively few Republicans in Congress who have proven themselves to be willing to go against the Trump line on major issues, including the election. Kinzinger is currently serving on the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, which is planning on rounds of public hearings in the near future. So far, the panel has already heard from over 340 individuals and counting, so it’s clear that efforts by Trump and certain allies of his to stall the probe haven’t been working to the extent that the former president might hope for. Trump’s lies about the election — and his consistent calls for action over it — helped drive the Capitol violence, and as long as he keeps lying, the potential for certain reality-detached followers of his to once again perpetrate something similar remains.
The Justice Dept. alleged Jan. 6 was a seditious conspiracy. Now will it investigate Trump?
"When will DOJ promptly & exhaustively investigate the part of the coup attempt that I believe came perilously close to ending American constitutional democracy?"https://t.co/DBj3GINKQ1
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 16, 2022
