Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told Donald Trump to “bring it on” after the president-elect said members of the House committee that investigated the Trump-incited U.S. Capitol riot “should go to jail.”
Kinzinger, a fierce and yearslong critic of Trump, was on the panel whose findings accused the returning POTUS of deliberately plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Trump’s threat, though, is “nothing more than the desperate howl of a man who knows history will regard him with shame,” Kinzinger wrote in the latest issue of his Substack newsletter.
“Let me be clear: we did nothing wrong,” the ex-lawmaker added, noting how the committee “was driven by facts, the Constitution, and the pursuit of accountability—principles that seem foreign to Trump.”
Democracy In The Balance
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“If Donald wants to pursue this vindictive fantasy, I say bring it on,” Kinzinger added, urging Trump to “go ahead and try to rewrite history” because “the evidence speaks louder than your words.” “We aren’t afraid of the truth, but I suspect you are,” Kinzinger concluded the essay.
Kinzinger adopted a similarly defiant tone following Trump’s 2024 election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, saying he is “absolutely, resolutely unafraid of” him, despite his staunch opposition over the years.
“He builds his whole image around being ‘strong,’ ‘tough,’ a supposed champion of the ‘common man,’” Kinzinger said last month. “But strength doesn’t come from endless bullying, degrading insults, or an ability to throw temper tantrums every time he doesn’t get his way. That’s not strength; it’s weakness.”