Kinzinger to Republicans: ‘Stand up and speak out now’ against Trump’s 2024 presidential bid

Outgoing U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, called on his fellow Republicans Tuesday night to “stand up and speak out now” against former GOP President Donald Trump, who announced he will mount another bid for the White House in 2024.

“To my fellow Republican leaders, listen, if you want to ever look in the mirror without shame, stand up and speak out now,” Kinzinger said. Kinzinger has been one of a handful in his party early on to speak out against Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 protest and ensuing riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Kinzinger, who is one of two Republicans on the House Jan. 6 committee, posted his remarks on his personal Twitter account at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday in a recorded video statement less than two minutes long.

Kinzinger, who did not seek another term in last week’s election, echoed his previous sharp rebukes of the former president, whose newest White House bid comes amid criminal investigations related to his role in the events of Jan. 6 and a recent FBI raid over classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Trump has spent his time since his 2020 loss against President Joe Biden, a Democrat, lambasting local, state and national election integrity and feeding illegitimacy conspiracies about an election that wasn’t stolen.

Part of the nine-member U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, Kinzinger and his fellow panelists subpoenaed Trump in October. The subpoena demanded Trump testify under oath about his involvement and hand over documents related to his communications with members of Congress and extremist groups. Trump later sued the committee and refused to testify.

Kinzinger said Trump’s Tuesday announcement was a cry for attention from the former one-term president, and ridiculed what he called Trump’s propensity to sow division.

“When [Trump] says he cares about his people and then he drains them of their money using fear, lies, he’s an abuser, and he’s a con man,” Kinzinger said. “Donald Trump is a stain on our nation and unfortunately we’re going to have to keep hearing from him again and again and more people will give and give and be abused.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.