Adam Kinzinger would 'love' to primary Trump, 'even if he crushed me'
Retiring Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) is exhausted — "I wouldn't mind having a break," he recently told HuffPost — but that doesn't mean he's putting any and all political ambitions aside.
Case in point: the vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and Jan. 6 committee member has yet to rule out a run for president.
"So, I look at it this way," Kinzinger told HuffPost: "I'll make a decision when we get there, if there's a need and a desire. It's truly not anything I'm planning right now, but I'm not going to rule it out."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Look, if we're in a position, if it's just terrible candidates and the country's in a worse place? Maybe. But there's no grand plan right now," he added.
It seems that approach could change, however, should Trump run for president in 2024, as is expected. In fact, Kinzinger said he would "love" to challenge the former president in a primary.
"I would love it. I really would," Kinzinger said of running against Trump. "Even if he crushed me, like in a primary, to be able to stand up and call out the garbage is just a necessary thing, regardless of who it is. ... I think it'd be fun."
But in the meantime, the lawmaker is just happy to get out of Congress, he told HuffPost.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"I'm exhausted of the same arguments, the same kind of performative politics," he said. "Maybe I would have run for governor. Maybe I would have run for Senate. Who knows? But yeah, my time in the House is, mercifully, coming to an end." Read more at HuffPost.
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
- 
Eel-egal trade: the world’s most lucrative wildlife crime?Under the Radar Trafficking of juvenile ‘glass’ eels from Europe to Asia generates up to €3bn a year but the species is on the brink of extinction
 - 
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
 - 
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
 
- 
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
 - 
‘Not every social scourge is an act of war’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
 - 
Pentagon unable to name boat strike casualtiesSpeed Read The Pentagon has so far acknowledged 14 strikes
 - 
41 political cartoons for October 2025Cartoons Editorial cartoonists take on Donald Trump, ICE, Stephen Miller, the government shutdown, a peace plan in the Middle East, Jeffrey Epstein, and more.
 - 
Trump limits refugees mostly to white South AfricansSpeed Read The administration is capping the number of refugees at 7,500
 - 
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation
 - 
Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threatSpeed Read Trump had spent the last six days in Asia
 - 
What does history say about Trump’s moves in Latin America?Today's Big Question ‘Bitter memories’ surface as the US targets Venezuela
 
