‘What Happened?’ Fox Anchor Asks Adam Kinzinger Why Republicans Revived Trump After Condemning Him on Jan. 6

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto asked Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) on Thursday how Donald Trump was allowed to reclaim his position atop the Republican Party after many in the leadership condemned the former president following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“What happened?” Cavuto asked. “The leadership was almost universally critical at the time, including Mitch McConnell and Kevin Mccarthy and others, yourself, of course, that raised serious questions about the president’s behavior at the time and then radio silence. What happened?”

Kinzinger, who has been a leading GOP critic of Trump, responded:

“You know, I think — so many points in the intervening four or five years as President Trump was rising up to get elected, there were moments that seemed like he would be down and out and he wasn’t. I think from a political leader perspective, they began to fear their own base.”

Kinzinger continued, noting that a seachange in the relationship to the base is what he believes altered the dynamics in the party. “This is a key,” he continued. “As leaders, yes, we need our base to elect us. We need our people to elect us. Part of the two-way street is that we have to lead people as well.”

Kinzinger went on to criticize House members who are too afraid to lose their jobs and would prefer to stay silent than risk upsetting the base.

“You can convince yourself, I’ll just stay quiet so that I survive because somebody may be much more conspiracy-driven attitudes will replace me,” he argued. “The problem is now is the time to stand up and tell the people that we represent the truth. They deserve that. They don’t deserve more and more e-mails trying to take their 20 or $30 away for a ‘Stop the Steal’ movement based in complete nothingness in which none of that money actually went to stoping to steal.”

Watch above via Fox News