Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a “Civil War like fracture” in the country.
“I have visited nations ravaged by civil war,” Kinzinger tweeted.
“I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant.”
The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump tweeting a quote from Pastor Robert Jeffress on Fox News.
{mosads}” ‘If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,’ ” Trump tweeted.
House Democrats opened a formal impeachment inquiry last week after details of a phone call where Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Jeffress, a Dallas-based pastor and known supporter of Trump, has a history of controversial and offensive comments.
He has reportedly made derogatory remarks about Islam, calling it “a religion that promotes pedophilia” and a “heresy from the pit of hell.”
He has also called Mormonism a “cult” that is not a true part of Christianity and said “you can’t be saved by being a Jew.” Then-Senate candidate Mitt Romney denounced Jeffress after it was announced he would take part in the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem last year.
Trump, who has railed against Democrats for starting the impeachment inquiry, enjoys a high approval rating among Republicans, according to polls.
Public support for impeachment has shifted in the last week as details about his conversation with Zelensky have been made public, according to several polls, with opinions now roughly evenly split for and against Trump’s removal.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on Trump’s tweet.