Adam Kinzinger Rips Fellow Republicans’ ‘Grifting Scam’ Over Trump’s Push to Overturn Election: ‘I Really Do Worry About the Future of My Party’

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) went on a warpath against Donald Trump’s handling of government funding negotiations, plus the members of his own party perpetuating a “grifting scam” over the president’s 2020 election defeat.

Kinzinger spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union, who started by asking about Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), plus the uncertainty over Congress’ attempts to pass Covid relief. The congressman was asked if he believes there are enough votes to override Trump’s NDAA veto, which led to Kinzinger decrying Trump’s “nonsensical reasons” for blocking it.

“We had way more than two-thirds of the votes to pass this,” he said. “I couldn’t justify if I voted for this bill and voted to sustain the president’s veto instead of override it. I don’t know how you justify that besiding saying ‘I’m just doing what the president wants.'”

When the conversation moved on to the gridlock over Congress’ omnibus spending and covid stimulus package, Kinzinger lamented the “chaos” of how Trump upended negotiations for the relief bill after being absent from the deal-making process for weeks.

Fine. If you want to make it $2,000 checks, negotiate that from the beginning. Let’s have the discussion after this bill is signed, because right now, we are at a point people are left out in the dark. But to play this old switcheroo game…I don’t get the point, I don’t understand what’s being done unless it’s just to create chaos and show power and be upset because he lost of the election. Otherwise, I don’t understand it. This just has to get done.

Kinzinger’s comments about Trump’s election bitterness were a recurring topic, for they came up again when Bash asked about what might happen if Republicans try to contest the Electoral College’s results when Congress certifies them on January 6th. In recent days, Kinzinger condemned those who’ve joined with Trump’s attempts to overturn, and he kept that going writing off the effort as a “scam” doomed to fail.

All that is being done is certain members of Congress and the president and ‘thought leaders’ on Twitter getting retweets, getting followers and raising money on this scam. It is a scam. It is going to disappoint the people that believe this election was stolen, that think this is an opportunity to change it. But instead of being disappointed in the people that led them on this grifting scam, they will somehow, you know, try to convince these people that it was the RINOs in Congress, or something like that, and not the Constitution that prevents this from happening in the first place. We talk about the Constitution, we have to follow it, and I’m sorry if that doesn’t mean the outcome was what you wanted.

Kinzinger concluded by lamenting the troubling rhetoric Republicans have given air to since Trump’s defeat, saying “I really do worry about the future of my party.”

Watch above, via CNN.