Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said he received a very strong reaction after voting to impeach Donald Trump , with a family member even writing a letter claiming that Kinzinger was possessed by the devil.
The Illinois representative spoke about his vote in an appearance on Meet the Press on Sunday, standing by his decision and detailing some of the blowback he has received. Some of it came from his own family, Yahoo News reported, with Kinzinger relaying that his father’s cousin sent him a petition saying he was disowned and accusing him of being under the control of the devil.
“Look it’s really difficult,” he said, via Rolling Stone . “I mean, all of a sudden imagine everybody that supported you, or so it seems that way, your friends, your family, has turned against you. They think you’re selling out.”
“I’ve gotten a letter, a certified letter, twice from the same people, disowning me and claiming I’m possessed by the devil.”
Kinzinger has emerged as one of the most vocal Republican members of Congress opposing Trump and his actions in the lead-up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was ultimately impeached for inciting the crowd and repeating unfounded claims that the election had been stolen before telling them to march to the Capitol, where many of them surrounded the building and forced their way inside. Kinzinger joined nine other Republicans in voting to impeach him, making it the most bipartisan impeachment vote in American history.
As CNN reported, Kinzinger has continued to lead efforts against Trump after the impeachment vote. On Saturday, he announced plans to start a “movement” to push back against his party’s embrace of the former president. He introduced a new “Country First” website that is funded by his Future First Leadership Political Action Committee, calling on the GOP to return to its principles and stop supporting Trump.
“The Republican Party has lost its way. If we are to lead again, we need to muster the courage to remember who we are,” he said in a video.
But some other top leaders remain publicly supportive of Trump, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who paid Trump a visit at his Mar-a-Lago resort this week to discuss the 2022 midterms. Kinzinger noted how many of the members who criticized Trump in the wake of the attack on the Capitol on January 6 have now reversed, speaking out against the upcoming impeachment trial and trying to remain in his good graces.
