Adam Kinzinger has said his colleagues fear speaking out against Donald Trump because they could be replaced by “a Marjorie Taylor Greene”.
Mr Kinzinger, who was among ten Republicans to impeach the former president for January’s riot, said in an interview on Tuesday that “the other 190” refuse to speak out against Mr Trump because they fear being replaced and losing.
“You lose, and you’ll be replaced by somebody like a Marjorie Taylor Greene,” he told Heard on the Hill of the Trump-backed congresswoman.
“And that’s how these people [in Congress] convince themselves, ‘Hey, the best thing I can do is go limp’”
His remarks follow a months-long campaign against pro-Trump figures in his party, which he compared to the “Titanic sinking” for its following of Mr Trump.
“There are moments where I wake up and I’m like, why? Why am I the only one, am I doing something wrong?,” Mr Kinzinger said in the interview.
“It’s not the 10 of us who are going to save this democracy. It’s the 190 who finally get fed up enough to say something.”
Speaking last month about the future of the Republican Party, Mr Kinzinger said it was for “the many Republicans who have remained SILENT in the attack on our democracy” to speak out.
“Ten of us voted to impeach Trump, 180 remain silent, and now it’s their turn,” said Mr Kinzinger. “When we all publicly take sides, then we can answer the question, once and for all, whose party is this.”
The remarks came after Anthony Gonzalez, another Representative who impeached Mr Trump in January, said he would not run again in 2022’s midterm elections.
“And now the pundits and politicos are discussing whether this means that Trump won,” Mr Kinzinger said in a Twitter video of the announcement.
“So, let me answer this question. Yes, as of now, Trump is winning. Not because Anthony decided not to run but because so many in the Republican Party decided to stay silent.”
