Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger asked Americans who believe in democracy to vote for the nominee who did not appear on the primary ballot and did not receive a single delegate vote.
In a Thursday night address to the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the man-without-a-party asked voters to cast their ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kinzinger began his seven-minute speech by acknowledging the Republican Party’s new direction under Trump in which it no longer engages in unchecked foreign adventurism – an approach he characterized as “conservative.”
“I’ve learned something about the Democratic Party,” he said, continuing that Democrats “are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been. I was relieved to discover that because I’ve learned something about my party too, something I couldn’t ignore, the Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself.”
Kinzinger, who did not run for reelection in 2022 after Illinois redrew his district, has continued calling for U.S. intervention in Ukraine’s war against Russia. Thursday night he further preached the virtues of intervening in foreign wars.
“As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable,” he said, adding “it used to be the soul of being a Republican, but Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.”
Kinzinger, who along with Rep. Liz Cheney was appointed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to investigate Trump, made false claims about Trump’s role in the events of January 6, 2021, before targeting Trump for being “weirdly obsessed with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Putin invaded foreign countries during the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden, but made no such incursions during Trump’s presidency.
Kinzinger compared the need for America to fight in Ukraine against Russia with the necessity of fighting in World War II, despite Russia invading a nation an ocean away and Japan attacking United States soil, killing over 2,400 at Pearl Harbor.
“How can a party claim to be conservative when it tarnishes the gifts that our forebears fought for, men like my grandfather, who served in World War Two, who believed in a cause bigger than himself, and he risked his life for it behind enemy lines to preserve American democracy?” he asked rhetorically.
“We must put country first and tonight, and tonight, as a Republican speaking before you, I’m putting our country first, because the fact is, I do belong here.”
Most Republicans would agree with his latter assertion.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Kinzinger did not run for reelection in 2022 after Illinois — not California — redrew his district.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.