Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told “Face the Nation” Sunday that the upcoming Thursday hearing of the select committee to investigate Jan. 6 will “open people’s eyes in a big way,” about former President Donald Trump.
Specifically, Kinzinger – who is set to retire from Congress this year and is leading the Thursday hearing – said that details about Trump’s actions from when rioters first stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to his first response to the attack will be revealed.
“The reality is – I’ll give you this preview, the president didn’t do very much but gleefully watch television during this timeframe,” he told Margaret Brennan of CBS News. “We’re going to present a lot more than that, but I could only imagine as – I mean, I knew what I felt like as a US Congressman, if I was a president, sworn to defend the Constitution, that includes the legislative branch, watching this on television, I know I would have been going ballistic to try to save the Capitol. He did quite the opposite.”
Trump also held a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington D.C. the day of the deadly insurrection. During the rally, he told attendees that believed voter fraud impacted the 2020 election, claims that remain unfounded. Some of the rioters donned Trump gear as the broke into the Capitol building.
Kinzinger also told Brennan that the committee, which held its first hearing last month, has “filled in the blanks,” regarding the 187 minutes it took Trump to respond to the riot.
“I can’t necessarily say that the motives behind every piece of information we know we’ll be able to explain,” he said. “But this is going to open people’s eyes in a big way.”
When Brennan asked if the president “didn’t do anything,” Kinzinger confirmed.
“The president didn’t do anything, and we'’e going to fill those blanks in,” he said. “And if the American people watch this, particularly I say as to my fellow Republicans, watch this with an open mind and is this the kind of strong leader you really think you deserve?”
Over the past year, Trump has teased a potential 2024 presidential run several times. Kinzinger has expressed interest in running against the one-term president.
“I would love it. I really would,” he told The Huffington Post in April. “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.”
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