(HorizonPost.com) – Former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger last Wednesday endorsed President Biden in the 2024 election, claiming that the Democrat president would protect “our democracy.”
In a video announcement posted on social media, the deeply anti-Trump Kinzinger described the former president as “a direct threat” to American values. He conceded that he did not always agree with the president but insisted that Biden would “always protect the very thing that makes America the best country in the world: our democracy.”
Kinzinger warned that Trump would “hurt anyone or anything” to gain power and told every American regardless of party that it was “not the time” to quietly watch as Trump “threatens the future of America.” He called on all Americans to unite behind Biden to end Trump’s political aspirations “once and for all.”
Despite backing Biden, the CNN contributor repeatedly referred to himself as a “conservative.”
Kinzinger becomes the most well-known Republican to throw his support behind the progressive Joe Biden as the Biden campaign hopes to win over moderate Republicans and independent voters who may be skittish about another Trump presidency.
In early June, the Biden campaign hired former Kinzinger chief of staff Austin Weatherford as its national director for Republican outreach.
It is likely other Republicans, like those who endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, will also endorse Biden’s reelection in 2024.
Not long after Kinzinger posted the video, the staffer in charge of President Biden’s X account reposted the endorsement and said Biden was grateful for the former Republican’s support.
Once a little-known Republican House member, Kinzinger was launched into the national spotlight for his harsh attacks on Donald Trump following the January 6 riot at the Capitol, even voting in favor of Trump’s second impeachment. He quickly became a regular guest on cable news, especially after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped him for the January 6 select committee.
Kinzinger decided not to run for reelection in the 2022 Midterms after Illinois Democrats redistricted his seat out of existence, leaving him in a district he was likely to lose. Instead, just as the Republicans took over the House in January 2023, Kinzinger joined CNN as a senior political commentator.
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