Republican former Rep. Adam Kinzinger endorses Biden
The former U.S. House member from Illinois said former President Donald Trump is ‘a direct threat to every fundamental American value.’
Republican Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois on June 26 endorsed President Joe Biden for reelection, saying that Biden would protect democracy and that former President Donald Trump “poses a direct threat to every fundamental American value.”
“While I certainly don’t agree with President Biden on everything, and I never thought I’d be endorsing a Democrat for president, I know that he will always protect the very thing that makes America the best country in the world: our democracy,” Kinzinger, who voted for Trump in 2020, said in a video posted to X.
Kinzinger said of Trump: “He doesn’t care about our country. He doesn’t care about you. He only cares about himself. And he’ll hurt anyone or anything in pursuit of power.”
Kinzinger specifically brought up Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when he urged a crowd of his supporters to go to the U.S. Capitol to protest Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. The crowd listened, and hundreds violently broke their way into the Capitol, injuring law enforcement officers and causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage in the process.
In connection with the rioting on Jan. 6, Trump himself was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023 on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempts to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
“He attacked the foundation of this nation, encouraging a violent mob of his supporters to march on the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transition of power,” said Kinzinger, who was one of two Republicans who sat on the now disbanded House select committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks.
“Now he’s become even more dangerous,” Kinzinger added. “He’s called for termination of the Constitution. He wants to be a dictator on day one. He actually said that. And he’s continuing to stoke the flames of political violence.”
Kinzinger is one of the highest-profile Republicans to endorse Biden to date. CNN reported in May that former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan had endorsed Biden, publishing a column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May in which he said,is “This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass.”
Kinzinger encouraged others to join him in voting for Biden in November.
“There’s too much at stake to sit on the sidelines,” Kinzinger said. “So to every American of every political party, and those of none, I say: Now is not the time to watch quietly as Donald Trump threatens the future of America. Now is the time to unite behind Joe Biden and show Donald Trump off the stage once and for all.”
