Adam Kinzinger Blames McCarthy for 'Resurrecting' Trump's Political Life

Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Ilinois Republican, said Thursday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy "was over Trump until he wasn't" following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and said the Republican leader ultimately helped revive the former president's "political life."

Kinzinger's comments on Thursday came after the New York Times reported that immediately following the riot, McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell privately said they believed Trump was responsible for inciting the actions on January 6. The newspaper reported that in the days after January 6, McCarthy claimed he would push the president to resign and that he told Republicans that he had "had it with this guy," referring to Trump.

On Thursday, Kinzinger retweeted a post from MSNBC host Joe Scarborough who shared the Times story and wrote: "'I've had it with this guy.' ~Kevin McCarthy after January 6th vowing to Republican leaders he would drive Trump from politics."

"100 percent true. McCarthy was over Trump until he wasn't, when he realized he needed him," Kinzinger wrote. "This picture 👇👇 literally resurrected Trumps political life. Thanks Kev."

Kinzinger shared a picture of McCarthy and Trump at the former president's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida that was taken in late January 2021, just weeks after the attack at the Capitol. During the meeting — which occurred about two weeks after the House voted to impeach Trump for inciting the violence at the Capitol on January 6 — Trump's political action committee said the former president agreed to help McCarthy win back control of the House in 2022.

In a speech on January 13, 2021, McCarthy said that Trump "bears responsibility" for the attack on the Capitol, but the Times reported on Thursday that privately McCarthy went "much further." In a January 10 conversation with Republican leaders, McCarthy said "What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that and nobody should defend it," according to the Times. Mark Bednar, a spokesman for McCarthy, told the Times that the Republican leader "never said he'd call Trump to say he should resign."

Newsweek has reached out to McCarthy's office for comment.

Kinzinger is one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in connection with the Capitol riot. He also — along with Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming — is one of two Republicans to sit on the House panel investigating the January 6 attack. The Illinois Republican is a frequent critic of Trump and McCarthy. In February, Kinzinger blasted McCarthy over his response to the Republican National Committee's censure of him and Cheney.