Latest news with #AdamKinzinger
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kinzinger talks Trump and his own future in Chicago speech
CHICAGO (WGN) — Adam Kinzinger has been out of Congress for two years now, but his final term continues to define him and his mission. 'This is not normal,' Kinzinger said of President Donald Trump's first four months back in the White House. 'Regardless of your opinion of him, people can obviously look at this and say: This isn't how politics used to be. This kind of anger, this division is not sustainable.' Kinzinger spoke with WGN ahead of a speech Wednesday evening in Chicago. Since leaving office, he has traveled the nation for his 'Country First' political action committee, telling the story of being one of only two republicans to serve on the Jan. 6 Committee. Despite having a conservative voting record, Trump supporters branded him a 'RINO,' which stands for 'Republican In Name Only.' GOP's Kinzinger explains his appearance at Democratic National Convention 'Democracy is still worth preserving,' Kinzinger said. Kinzinger encouraged Republicans and Democrats not to tune out the daily drumbeat of headlines. 'You have the daily clown show or the daily controversies. Some of it is so outrageous, you have to pay attention. Some of it is corruption,' Kinzinger said. 'In the meantime, the stuff that really matters – did DOGE save $160 billion? It did not. By the way, they promised $2 trillion. The 'Big Beautiful Bill' will actually cut Medicare and Medicaid and explode the debt. So people are talking about that, and then we hear about the Qatar jet. So, how do you kind of juggle all those balls and stay engaged? That's the big key.' Kinzinger doesn't sound like a man content to stay on the sidelines of government, but he has yet to announce his next move. In the meantime, he'll continue to try to reach new audiences through social media, a regular column on Substack, YouTube videos, and commentary on CNN. 'I want the younger generation to recognize: This doesn't have to be this way,' Kinzinger said. In 2022, WGN profiled Kinzinger as a politician without a party. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud In 2024, Republican Kinzinger accepted a prime-time speaking role at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 'I look at the Democrats and say, sure, there's a lot I disagree with, but there's actually a lot I agree with that my party has abandoned, like foreign policy. I mean, standing with Ukraine in a fight against Russia, if you had told me 10 years ago that my party would've abandoned that fight, I wouldn't have believed you,' Kinzinger told WGN at the time. 'When they call me a RINO, there's not much about me that's changed from what I used to be. The whole Republican party has changed.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump warns ‘playing with fire' Putin that Russia has avoided ‘really bad things' — thanks to him
Donald Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is 'playing with fire' following a barrage of Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine. The U.S. president also suggested Russia has avoided 'really bad things' — if it weren't for him. 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. 'He's playing with fire!' During his campaign, Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours after his return to the White House and repeatedly claimed that Russia's invasion never would have happened had he been in office at the time. But more than three months after his inauguration, with no ceasefire yet in sight, Trump is increasingly critical of his Russian counterpart and has threatened to impose severe sanctions after a relentless string of attacks. 'Nothing sadder than a tough guy who needs to remind you he's tough, right after admitting to shielding Russia,' wrote former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger. 'When will those REALLY BAD things finally start happening to Russia?' wrote Olena Halushka with the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory. 'We can't wait.' The president's latest comments follow recent criticism against his Russian counterpart after three massive drone and missile attacks against civilian targets across Ukraine, including what Ukraine has called the largest attack yet since the start of Russia's assault more than three years ago. 'Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!' Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend. 'I've always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!' Putin is 'needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers,' Trump wrote Sunday. 'Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.' The Kremlin shrugged off the president's remarks, saying in response that 'everyone' involved is guilty of 'emotional overload' while thanking Trump for his efforts to broker peace — which Russia is routinely rejecting. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky urged Trump to apply 'real pressure' against Putin. 'Putin shows just how much he despises the world – the world that spends more effort on 'dialogue' with him than on real pressure,' Zelensky wrote on Monday. 'The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions,' he added. 'Russia's disregard for diplomacy and refusal even to consider a ceasefire must be met with a freeze on Russian finances and a halt to its oil trade.'
CNN
18-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Hear what Kinzinger thinks about Trump calling his pardon void
Former Republican Congressman and January 6 Select Committee member Adam Kinzinger gives his reaction to President Donald Trump questioning whether former President Joe Biden's pardons of January 6 Select Committee members are valid.
CNN
17-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Hear what Kinzinger thinks about Trump calling his pardon void
Former Republican Congressman and January 6 Select Committee member Adam Kinzinger gives his reaction to President Donald Trump questioning whether former President Joe Biden's pardons of January 6 Select Committee members are valid.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kinzinger on Democrats' response to Trump's first week: ‘Crickets'
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said President Trump's first week in office was filled with 'crickets' from Democrats who he claims did very little to oppose new executive actions. 'I'll be honest, this week there was more to destroy the rule of law than in trumps first term,' Kinzinger wrote in a Tuesday statement on the social media platform X. 'And I have no idea what the Democrats are doing to fight back. Or even saying,' he continued. 'Crickets.' Trump began deportation flights on military aircrafts, new orders for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and moved to deny birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants all in his first few days in the Oval Office. Democratic attorneys general across the nation pushed back on the latter measure with a formal lawsuit. A federal judge to later blocked the order. Fellow Democrats also shared their outrage over ICE raids, which one New Jersey mayor described as an effort for people to be 'unlawfully terrorized.' Trump's own party members have acknowledged the swift action from the president but urged lawmakers to consider each action independently of others. 'You have to take each one of the actions separately. For me, I've asked for more information on the support or the legal ramifications of actually firing the individuals,' Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told The Hill in previous comments. 'I think the president wanted to hit the ground running and I think he really has a concern about a bureaucracy that could be in his way,' Rounds later added. Some spoke out against Trump's pardons for Capitol insurrectionists while officials questioned his decision to fire 17 independent inspector generals. 'I don't understand why one would fire individuals whose mission it is to root out waste, fraud and abuse. This leaves a gap in what I know is a priority for President Trump. So I don't understand it,' Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said while arriving at the Capitol for a Saturday morning vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
