Kinzinger: Dems Should Form “Uneasy Alliance” with Anti-Trump Republicans in Primaries Against Trump-Endorsed Candidates

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:53 pm

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Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), one of former President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics within the Republican Party, called on Democrats to form an “uneasy alliance” with anti-Trump Republicans in primaries against candidates who’ve been endorsed by the former President.

Kinzinger told The Associated Press that Americans need to prepare for the “real possibility” of “a failed state” should Trump’s influence send these candidates, who’ve backed his lies about the integrity of the 2020 general election, over the top.

“We have to be able to have uneasy alliances, as uneasy as they may be in this moment,” he told the news outlet, adding: “We’re underdogs. “But without an underdog coming in and taking on a fight … nothing’s going to change.”

Kinzinger’s statements come as the Republican National Committee considers expelling him from the Republican Party at its winter meeting, which will be held in Utah this week.

“This announcement by him only reinforces why he should be expelled from the Republican Conference,” said David Bossie, who sponsored the RNC’s resolution. “He is actively trying to defeat his colleagues and no longer believes in our shared conservative Republican values.”

For months, Republican allies of former President Trump have accused Kinzinger and Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), his colleague who with him sits on the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection of January 6, of betraying the party.

In a September letter, Representative Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, accused both Kinzinger and Cheney of being “spies for the Democrats.”

In his letter, Biggs asks House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to amend GOP Conference rules, a change that would effectively remove Cheney and Kinzinger from the House Freedom Caucus over their involvement with the committee.

The rule change would prohibit Republican Conference members from accepting a committee assignment without the approval of GOP House leadership.

“This proposal is not because of a policy or political difference, but because some members have chosen to work with the Democrats to investigate and potentially remove Republican Members from the House,” Biggs wrote.

He added: “Republican Conference meetings are an opportunity for elected House Republicans to come together and strategize the most effective path to push back on the radical policies of Speaker [of the House Nancy] Pelosi and the Democrats.”

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.