Washington – Congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 republicans who voted for President Trump’s impeachment on Wednesday, has been a frequent critic of the president. He believes Trump incited violence on January 6, when he encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn the election hours before a pro-Trump crowd invaded the Capitol.
“I think the president, for all intents and purposes, is not the president. He’s just crazy. He’s going crazy,” Kinzinger said in an interview with CBS News correspondent in Washington, Major Garrett, for this week’s episode of Podcast “The Takeout”. For Kinzinger, Vice President Mike Pence is “the man now who stands between not even having a president and where we are”. The full podcast will air on Friday.
Kinzinger accused Trump of sowing the division for four years and said that most Republicans who voted against impeachment probably did so because they were receiving threats of a political and physical nature.
“In fact, I believe that if people voted for their conscience without worrying about political or personal ramifications, we would have 150 [Republican votes for impeachment]”Said Kinzinger, arguing that concerns about the potential consequences” suppressed “enthusiasm for the impeachment vote.” They all probably went home – and I don’t envy them – they came home with a very heavy heart “.
Kinzinger expressed his respect for the other nine Republicans who voted for impeachment in the face of these threats, saying, “These are the people I would sit with in the trench.”
He also considered whether he believed that any Republican member of Congress helped the protesters to plan the January 6 uprising. Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill claimed that lawmakers paid visits to groups of people on January 5 for “recognition” before the riots. Sherrill and other Democrats called for an investigation into these trips.
Kinzinger believes it is “possible” for Republican representatives to visit protesters the day before the attack, although the Capitol has been closed to visits since March due to COVID-19. He noted that several of his Republican colleagues encouraged his supporters to come to Washington and speak out in favor of the annulment of election results.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s possible that people have been shown. I hope not, for sure,” he said. He added that he believes that if the investigations show that this is true, then these members should be expelled and have criminal charges brought against them. He said the Republican Party was “enormously divided”, pointing to Republican Congressman Jim Jordan’s efforts to expel Congressman Liz Cheney from his post as president of the Republican conference because she voted for impeachment.
Kinzinger talked about his experience on Wednesday, when he was locked up in the Chamber of Deputies and then in his office for four hours, saying he felt “real evil and darkness” that day. He said that while he does not normally take a firearm with him when he goes to the Capitol, he brought his gun on January 6.
“I specifically took my gun that day. For four hours, you know, sitting inside my office locked without it. It was a scary time, “said Kinzinger. Although guns are banned on Capitol Hill, an exception is allowed for lawmakers, who can keep firearms in their offices.
He also told Garrett that his criticism of Mr. Trump made him an outcast among some of his friends and family. Some of his family members even signed a petition to disown him, he said, arguing that he was part of the “devil’s army”.
“We can’t expect anything different because, for four years, that base of deception has been laid,” said Kinzinger of Trump’s supporters, saying that Americans now needed to work to “deprogram them”.
However, Kinzinger expressed hope that Trump’s reign was coming to an end.
“I think people are going to turn against him. I think the Trump brand is over,” he said.
To learn more about Major’s conversation with Kinzinger, download the podcast “The Takeout” at Art19, iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify and Stitcher. New episodes are available every Friday morning. In addition, you can watch “The Takeout” on CBSN Friday at 5 pm, 9 pm and 12 pm ET and Saturday at 1 pm, 9 pm and 12 pm ET. For a complete archive of “The Takeout” episodes, visit www.takeoutpodcast.com. And you can hear “The Takeout” on selected affiliates on CBS News Radio (check your local listings).
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