Adam Kinzinger says he's worried about the 2024 presidential election because Trump 'learned where the weaknesses are in the system' from his 2020 election challenges
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- Adam Kinzinger, speaking on The Bulwark podcast, said ex-President Trump can win in 2024.
- "This one, I worry about," the ex-congressman said, pointing to Trump's challenges of the 2020 results.
- National polls taken all year have largely showed a competitive race between Biden and Trump.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, in a recent interview, said he's worried about the 2024 presidential election, arguing that former President Donald Trump and his political allies know "where the weaknesses are in the system" after challenging the 2020 results.
Kinzinger, a Republican who served in the House from 2011 to 2023 and earlier this week released his new book, "Renegade," went on The Bulwark podcast and told listeners that the former president could win another general election.
"This one, I worry about," Kinzinger said of the 2024 election. "We can have these guardrails in democracy, like off the Interstate, for instance. Your car can hit guardrails and stay on the bridge and not fall into the river."
"If a second car comes along and hits that same guardrail, it's going to take it off the road, and you're going to fall into the river," he continued. "And the problem is that now, Trump and the Trump-type folks have learned where the weaknesses are in the system. They intentionally tested the system but accidentally tested the weak points in 2020, and I think now they're going to know exactly where the weak points are."
Since November 2020, Trump has continued to repeat unsubstantiated claims regarding the election results and dispute President Joe Biden's victory. Trump's legal team, in the weeks after the election, challenged the results in several key swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, but were unsuccessful across the board.
Kinzinger, during the podcast episode, reiterated that Trump, who is competitive with Biden in 2024 polling, retains a substantial level of support that could send him back to the White House.
"If anybody thinks that Donald Trump can't win, listen, he can win again," he said. "Nobody thought he could win in 2016."
Kinzinger, a Trump critic who voted for Trump's impeachment for "incitement of insurrection" for the then-president's role on January 6, 2021, also served on the House committee investigating the riot at the US Capitol.