trump v. kinzinger
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."
"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.
"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.