Former GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger has mocked Republican lawmakers who changed their tune on the January 6 Capitol attack by reposting statements they made four years ago.
Kinzinger, a former Illinois congressman who campaigned for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, hit out at Republicans who have backpedaled on their criticism of President-elect Donald Trump and the violent events of that day in 2021.
Among the senators Kinzinger roasted was Trump ally and staunch defender Lindsey Graham. “Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Graham said four years ago on X (formerly Twitter). “Their actions are repugnant to democracy.”
While Graham was critical of Trump during the presidential campaign and reportedly advised him to stop mentioning the 2020 election, he has since championed the Republican.
Kinzinger reposted Graham’s statement simply saying: “Agreed.”
He also shared a 2021 X statement from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who was a key figure in the campaign to keep Trump in the White House after losing the 2020 election.
“I unambiguously condemn in the strongest possible terms any and all forms of violent protest,” Johnson said at the time. “Any individual who committed violence today should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Thanks @SpeakerJohnson,” Kinzinger said as he shared the four-year-old post.
“These actions at the US Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty.” Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee wrote four years ago on X.
“I condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We are a nation of laws,” Blackburn added, to which Kinzinger reposted and said: “Thanks @MarshaBlackburn.”
He also shared a 2021 post from conservative radio host Erik Erikson that called for the protestors to be “shot” and to “deny [Trump] the ability to run for election again.”
Kinzinger lashed out at his former political allies and accused them of “cowardice.”
“Jan 6th is a reminder to me: cowardice spreads like wildfire,” he said in a follow up post on X. “This country needs leaders who are willing to tell the people the truth, not pander to lies.”
It comes as Trump’s 2024 election win over Harris was certified by a joint session of Congress on Monday in just 28 minutes.
