GOP Rep. Kinzinger Says All But a Handful of His Republican Colleagues Don’t Actually Believe the Big Lie

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R- IL) said Friday most of his House Republican colleagues don’t actually believe the big lie about the election, but won’t publicly say so for a variety of reasons.

Kinzinger spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper Friday and said he was “saddened” to see Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R- NY) throw in with some of Donald Trump’s baseless election claims. “Elise I think is the exact kind of leader the party needs to lead people away from this dark moment we’re in, but instead for whatever reason she made the calculation to go on Sebastian Gorka’s show, to go on Steve Bannon’s show, and to get this position perpetuating the big lie.”

He said that while the GOP may retake the House in 2022, it will not “bode well” for the party in the history books.

Tapper directly asked Kinzinger how many Republicans actually believe the big lie about the election.

“Five, probably, if that, maybe,” Kinzinger said. “I don’t know, but it’s in the single — it’s low. People don’t believe it, but what they are doing is sitting around saying ‘I need to continue to exist in this job so that I can make an impact. I don’t have the courage or the strength or the ability to swing this party, so I’m going to put my head down and go along.'”

Some Republicans want to just keep clinging to the Trump train, he added, while others “want to destroy the place.”

He implored his colleagues to watch the recent interview DC police officer Michael Fanone did with CNN, talking about being attacked during the riots on January 6th.

You can watch above, via CNN.

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