Campaign

Kinzinger says he’d vote for Biden instead of Trump ‘in a heartbeat’

by Lauren Irwin - 01/12/24 9:03 AM ET

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said he would vote for President Biden instead of former President Trump “in a heartbeat.”

Kinzinger, an outspoken critic of Trump, was asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins who he was going to support now that his preferred GOP candidate, Chris Christie, has dropped out of the race.

He said he believes it’s “highly likely” that a 2020 rematch between Biden and Trump will happen, and in that case, there is “no question” that he would support Biden.

“That’s not even a question I would have to wrestle with,” he said in remarks first highlighted by Mediaite.

“It is literally a decision at that moment between ‘do you believe in a functioning democracy? Or do you not?’” Kinzinger said. “And I think that’s the only thing on the ballot.”

Kinzinger, who served on the Jan. 6 Committee before leaving office, said Trump has made it clear he does not care about the U.S. Constitution. He claimed the former president “whines incessantly” and “always” plays the victim.

The former lawmaker said America is exhausted and “can’t take that for another four years.” Although he doesn’t agree with Biden on everything, if it were Trump versus Biden on the ticket in November, he would earn Kinzinger’s vote because “he doesn’t hate democracy.”

“I believe in America way more than I believe in the Republican Party. I don’t really believe in the Republican Party at the moment,” he said.

Still, Kinzinger said he isn’t going to aggressively campaign for the Democratic Party and hopes that fellow GOP contender Nikki Haley outperforms the former president in New Hampshire.

“I hope Nikki wins New Hampshire. I hope that leads to some momentum, anything to beat Donald Trump,” he said.

Haley has been closing in on Trump’s lead in New Hampshire, according to the numbers from the Decision Desk HQ/The Hill aggregate of polls. The former president currently has 42 percent while Haley has 30.9 percent support, and polling numbers will likely change in the coming days as a result of Christie leaving the race.