Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, came to the defense of Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin after President Trump called for her firing from the cable-news channel Saturday.
“She’s one of my favorite reporters,” Mr. Kinzinger said on Twitter about Ms. Griffin, a national security correspondent for the network. “Fair and unafraid,” he tweeted.
Mr. Trump suggested earlier Saturday that Fox News terminate Ms. Griffin after she confirmed parts of a bombshell article about the president recently published by The Atlantic.
Written by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, the article cited several unnamed sources who claimed Mr. Trump made disparaging comments about U.S. service members.
The White House fiercely rejected the article after it was first published Thursday. The Associated Press and later Ms. Griffin subsequently reported they confirmed parts of it.
Ms. Griffin said her sources confirmed that Mr. Trump had “disparaged veterans,” including one who said he described U.S. troops who fought in the Vietnam War as “suckers.”
Complaining on Twitter late Friday, Mr. Trump said The Atlantic article has been “refuted by many witnesses” and that Ms. Griffin “should be fired for this kind of reporting.”
Mr. Kinzinger, who served in the U.S. Air Force and is an Iraq War veteran, previously called The Atlantic article “deeply concerning” and said it left him “speechless.”
“This is either the most heinous hit job on a president or the most heinous comments made by a president,” Mr. Kinzinger reacted to the initial report Thursday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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