Adam Kinzinger thinks Trump is ‘scared to death’ of this 2024 GOP rival
The former Republican congressman says Chris Christie will ‘wipe the floor with’ Donald Trump
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said that former president Donald Trump is “scared to death” of his former confidant Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey.
Mr Kinzinger exited Congress at the beginning of this year after he voted to impeach Mr Trump for his role in the January 6 riot and worked on the House select committee investigating the attack. Mr Kinzinger was one of only two Republicans who worked on the committee along with former congresswoman Liz Cheney, who also voted to impeach Mr Trump.
Since then, he’s joined CNN as a contributor. Mr Kinzinger spoke on Wolf Blitzer’s show about Mr Trump’s decision not to participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.
“If he was the incumbent running for re-election, you know, if this was 2020, like, I get that, but he lost, he lost for the Republicans the presidency,” he said. “The Republicans have done nothing but lose since Donald Trump.”
Mr Kinzinger said that Mr Trump is “a coward.”
“He’s scared to death of Chris Christie,” he said. “Because I think Chris Christie is going to wipe the floor with him.”
Mr Christie, who served two terms as governor of New Jersey, previously endorsed Mr Trump in 2016 and was one of his biggest defenders. Since then, he’s emerged as a major critic of the former president, largely running for the White House to weaken the twice-impeached and four-times-indicted Mr Trump.
In addition to boosting Mr Christie on CNN, Mr Kinzinger hosted Mr Christie on a livestream on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday evening.
Former representative Joe Walsh, a former fan of Mr Trump who became a critic, differed slightly from Mr Kinzinger. Both men represented Illinois.
“I agree with my friend Adam Kinzinger that Donald Trump is a coward,” he posted on X. “Completely. But Trump isn’t afraid of Chris Christie. Not at all. Christie is no threat to Trump, and Trump knows it.” Trump isn’t skipping the debate bcuz he’s afraid. He’s skipping the debate bcuz he has to be THE story. And he thinks he’ll be a much bigger story if he’s not there.”
Fox News will host the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday evening. But Mr Trump has indicated he will not participate in the debate.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments