Adam Kinzinger says the RNC has ‘pledged allegiance to one man’ and is ‘not committed to democratic principles’

• Rep. Adam Kinzinger hit out at the RNC, calling them “completely unmoored from the truth.”
• Kinzinger, who was censured by the RNC last week, said it had pledged allegiance to Trump.
• He added that his censure proved that the committee was “not committed to democratic principles.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger said on Monday that his censure proves that the Republican National Committee has “pledged allegiance” to former President Donald Trump “over any kind of principle” — including democracy. 

The RNC censured Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney on February 4 over their participation in the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. Speaking at an interview on CNN’s “New Day” in response to questions on his censure, Kinzinger said that the committee had become “completely unmoored from the truth.” 

“I think it shows that (the RNC) has pledged allegiance to one man over any kind of principle, and they can call that like loyalty. They call that conservatism,” Kinzinger said on Monday. “Conservatism is no longer about what you actually believe. It’s about how intensely you’re loyal to Donald Trump.” 

He added that this “shows the party is not committed to the rule of law, despite what they say, and it’s not committed to democratic principles.” 

In a separate interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday, Kinzinger said the RNC’s censure of him “was a bridge that went way too far.”

According to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Kinzinger and Cheney were censured for engaging in “a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse” and “not sticking up for hard-working Republicans.”

In the wake of the two’s censure, Republican figures like Trump have rejoiced, calling Cheney and Kinzinger “horrible RINOs.” Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested that Cheney and Kinzinger’s political careers were over after the censure vote, saying he thought they would have “a hard time ever coming back to Congress.” 

Republican lawmakers Sen. Bill Cassidy, Gov. Larry Hogan, and former RNC chairman Michael Steele, however, stood behind Cheney and Kinzinger and blasted the RNC over the censure. GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski this week pushed back against the RNC’s stance, saying that denying the truth and creating a “false narrative” is “just wrong.” 

Sen. Mitt Romney also said he thought the censure sent an “inappropriate message.”

“One, to sanction two people of character as they did. But number two, to suggest that a violent attack on the seat of democracy is legitimate political discourse is so far from accurate as to shock and make people wonder what we’re thinking,” Romney told reporters this week. 

Other conservative figures have also spoken up on Cheney and Kinzinger’s behalf, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who slammed McDaniel for “carrying water” for Trump, and former Trump national security advisor HR McMaster, who said the RNC was mischaracterizing an “assault” on the government as “legitimate political discourse.”