CNN commentator Adam Kinzinger said Friday on CNN’s “The Lead” that former President Donald Trump and Republicans rhetoric could lead to violence.
Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “How concerned are you that if Trump loses again in November, and who knows what’s going to happen, but if he does, how concerned are you that we can see a repeat of January 6?”
Kinzinger said, “Well I’m really concerned. Now the advantage is Trump doesn’t have the instruments of power but he does have the crowd that can show up.”
He continued, “For democracy to survive for any self-governance to survive, all you need is this basic compact between Americans that you’ll vote, and your vote counts whoever gets the most votes wins and has a certain amount of power. That’s it. That’s all you have to agree on. What Donald Trump, frankly, now, Republicans have done, is convinced a significant amount of the party that even that basic compact that basic contract we have to have the self-govern is invalid and it’s false. And that is really dangerous especially in a country that we’re proud of, the fact that we were founded on revolution. We believed in no taxation without representation.”
Kinzinger added, “And now these Republicans are playing with fire convincing their base that in fact their voice isn’t heard. I got to tell you if this goes on for a long time, what we will see will be violence. There is no other outcome of that. And that’s frightening to me and that should be frightening to all Americans.”
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