Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) called out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday and accused him of ignoring warnings of violence prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He also stated that it should be McCarthy fearing for his position, not third-ranking Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney.
“I actually thought the person that should have their leadership challenged was Kevin McCarthy after Jan. 6,” Kinzinger commented during an interview at the National Press Club.
He sent out an explosive tweet Monday that the media and leftists seized upon and wholly supported. He castigated McCarthy over the riot: “A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin that his words and our party’s actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with ‘ok Adam, operator next question.’ And we got violence.”
Later on Monday, Kinzinger again attacked McCarthy claiming that his concerns that were presented to the GOP leader were met with a “cricket sound.” He also accused McCarthy of falling for Trump’s “false election claims” in an attempt to win back the majority in 2022.
(Video Credit: The Hill)
“I was very disappointed when my party’s leaders, Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise, in particular, decided that winning the next election and winning the majority was more important than a clear-eyed recognition of what happened on Jan. 6,” Kinzinger remarked. “What happened on Jan. 6 was that a lie led to violence.”
A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin that his words and our party’s actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with “ok Adam, operator next question.” And we got violence.
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) May 10, 2021
Kinzinger is also very upset over Liz Cheney’s looming ouster. McCarthy and Scalise are both supporting her replacement Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Former President Trump has also endorsed Stefanik.
Cheney has been a vocal critic of Trump’s over the election results and has proclaimed she won’t support him for the presidency in 2024. She was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump the second time around. Kinzinger was another who voted for impeachment.
“What she is being removed for is making [other Republicans] uncomfortable with being consistent and God bless her for having the consistency to tell the truth,” Kinzinger bluntly noted.
(Video Credit: Reuters)
Kinzinger seemed to call McCarthy a hypocrite by claiming that he had the same response to the Capitol riot as Cheney did, claiming that McCarthy blamed Trump. The Illinois congressman said the only difference was that McCarthy then went to Mar-a-Lago and welcomed the former president back into the party.
“[McCarthy] basically made the decision when he went to Mar-a-Lago that he was not going to be a leader of the Republican Party. … He handed those reins over to Trump and revived him.” Kinzinger continued: “I don’t consider him to be speaking on behalf of the Republican Party anymore because he gave his voting card … to Donald Trump.”
Initially, Kinzinger allegedly plotted to force a vote of no confidence to remove McCarthy from his position due to his response to Trump and the Capitol riot. But there was nowhere near enough support for that move, The Hill reported. Instead, he admitted that the Republicans conducted a “brilliant strategic play” that will most likely cost Cheney her position in the House on Wednesday. He insists that there are a number of Republicans who are furious with McCarthy over Cheney.
The media is really playing up the perceived rift within the GOP. Politico Playbook is reporting that McCarthy is throwing Cheney to the “MAGA wolves” to ensure the backing of former President Trump in his potential bid for speaker in 2022.
“Kevin McCarthy has pissed off enough members of his own conference that he’s going to have to go back to his former days as a whip to try to figure out where his votes are [to become speaker],” an anonymous GOP congressperson told Politico. “You have people like me — who are here to do the right thing for all the right reasons and have an expectation of leadership — that are, shall we say, disgusted with the internal squabbling that results from having weak leadership. And it is weak leadership. Straight up.”
Kinzinger is adamant that the party must now make a choice: “We can’t wash over what happened on Jan. 6 and the election because truth and lies cannot coexist,” he declared. “They simply can’t coexist. It’s a fight for the soul of the Republican Party.”
Denizens on Twitter voiced their disgust with Kinzinger and with McCarthy:
DNC War Room goes after McCarthy ahead of expected Liz Cheney ouster tomorrow: “Kevin McCarthy has surrendered his caucus to a conspiracy theorist, an accused sex trafficker and a proven loser president.”
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) May 11, 2021
Adam Kinzinger, the little Cretin is now saying that he warned Kevin McCarthy & the Republicans that they were contributing to potential violence! Which he had said was a Coup Attempt. He said that McCarthy dismissed him! His continuing to stir up problems, who’s paying him??
— Domenica D'Elia (@domenicadelia22) May 11, 2021
Kevin McCarthy: On January 6th, you threw President Trump under the bus. I have a simple question: Why?
— TheLeoTerrell (@TheLeoTerrell) May 11, 2021
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