Kinzinger blames McCarthy for Trump’s ‘postman’ and ‘crazy elements’ in Congress

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Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Sunday he blamed the House Minority Leader (R-Calif.) for what he called the “crazy elements” in Congress and for the reason why former President Trump is “always a factor” in politics.

Kinzinger said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that if he had a one-on-one conversation with McCarthy, he would tell his fellow Republican he was “disappointed” in his leadership.

Kinzinger said McCarthy had the opportunity to speak “the truth” to the American people as a leader of Congress, but instead went to Mar-a-Lago a few weeks after the January 6, 2021, uprising and “resurrected” Trump’s relevance. in politics.

“He’s the reason Donald Trump is still a factor,” Kinzinger said. “He’s the reason some of the crazy elements of the House still exist.”

McCarthy reportedly pleaded with Trump to call out the rioters during the attack on the Capitol, and audio of a phone call from McCarthy revealed that he criticized Trump in the aftermath of the uprising. But soon after, he strengthened his ties with the former president, as did much of the Republican Party.

Kinzinger said he believed Trump would have been kicked out as GOP leader if McCarthy hadn’t gone to Mar-a-Lago, adding that Congress impeaching Trump from office following his impeachment for his role in the riot would have been “enormous”. He said Trump was not removed from office, it was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans who failed to condemn Trump to following the second impeachment of him by the House.

But Kinzinger said the “second” McCarthy went to Mar-a-Lago, the GOP went from not knowing what it was going to do about Trump to “reluctantly” defending him.

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“Donald Trump should consider Kevin McCarthy his best friend because Donald Trump is alive today politically because of Kevin McCarthy,” he said.

Kinzinger said the GOP will not be the future of the country unless changes are made. He said a prosperous country 20 years from now won’t be based on what “radicals” like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) want.

“The only way this country can succeed is if we learn to work together,” he said.

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