President Biden’s reelection campaign on Wednesday trotted out two Republican politicians who urged GOP voters to reject former President Donald Trump, slamming him as a “fake Republican” who does not embody their values.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, both Republicans, said they still consider themselves to be conservatives, but the stakes are too high to back Mr. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.
The two anti-Trump Republicans made their pitch on the eve of the first presidential debate.
Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Duncan are the two most prominent Republicans to formally back Mr. Biden. Earlier this month, the Biden campaign tapped Mr. Kinzinger’s former chief of staff, Austin Weatherford, to serve as its Republican outreach director.
Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Duncan said they preferred the “leadership” of Mr. Biden despite him being a Democrat.
Mr. Kinzinger said Mr. Trump has transformed the Republican Party into one of “denial, lies [and] conspiracies.”
“If you had told me, Adam Kinzigner of three years ago, that you’re going to be endorsing a Democrat for president in three years, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. “But I got to tell you, the stakes of this moment are way too high.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung mocked Mr. Kinzinger by referencing the former lawmaker becoming emotional during a hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee.
“Who’s Adam Kinzinger? Isn’t he the crybaby?” the campaign said in response to a request for comment from The Washington Times.
The two former lawmakers were joined by Capitol Police Office Harry Dunn, a vocal Trump critic. He urged Americans not to forget the violence and chaos of the Jan. 6, attack, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the building to prevent Congress from certifying Mr. Biden’s election win.
The two former lawmakers were joined by Capitol Police Office Harry Dunn, a vocal Trump critic. He urged Americans not to forget the violence and chaos during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the building to prevent Congress from certifying Mr. Biden’s election win.
Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Duncan repeatedly stressed their conservative bona fides, with Mr. Dunan saying he is still viewed as “too conservative” in his hometown in Georgia.
They said Mr. Trump doesn’t embrace conservative values, saying the former president ran up the national debt with trillions of dollars in spending, saying it more than double what Mr. Biden has spent while in office.
“Donald Trump spent a trillion dollars we didn’t have. He spent it because it wasn’t just COVID-related. He spent it because he was trying to buy off constituencies from coast to coast. And so Donald Trump shows up as a fake Republican,” Mr. Duncan said.
He predicted that in 10 years, Republicans will be hard-pressed to find people within their party who would admit to voting for Mr. Trump. He also called for Republican leadership to abandon Mr. Trump, support Mr. Biden and work on rebuilding a new party without the former president.
“Let me speak directly to the millions of Republicans across the country who are tired of making excuses for Donald Trump’s behavior at their churches, in their offices and at their own kitchen tables. Enough is enough,” Mr. Duncan said.
“Let’s take the next two years as Republicans and build and heal a new party, a GOP 2.0. A party that finds leaders that are willing to embrace conservative principles and work across the aisle.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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