Kinzinger: Trump’s resignation would be ‘best thing for the country to heal’

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday said that President Trump’s removal from office would be “the best thing for the country to heal.”

Kinzinger, who last week became the first GOP lawmaker to publicly call for Trump’s removal after the siege of the U.S. Capitol, said on ABC’s “This Week” that he would “vote the right way” if an impeachment article came forward in Congress, but stated it was “probably not the smartest move.” 

“I think it would be the right move, if we had more than basically 10 days left of the administration,” Kinzinger told host George Stephanopoulos.  “I think there’s a lot of ideas with censure, with preventing him from being able to run again. You know the reality is we just don’t have a lot of time in this administration left, which right now is a good thing.”

NEW: GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @gstephanopoulos “the best thing for the country” is for Pres. Trump to resign, adding “the next best thing is the 25th Amendment.”

“We have to be willing to give our careers to do the right thing.” https://t.co/FnD9YSf2TE pic.twitter.com/6PVrqmjs1r

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 10, 2021

Echoing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), who appeared on the program before him, Kinzinger added, “I think we were very close to actually having members of Congress killed.”

Kinzinger last Thursday posted a video message on Twitter that called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove Trump from the Oval Office after the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol during proceedings to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win, leaving five people dead.

Fellow Republican lawmakers Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) have joined in the calls to have Trump removed from office.

Stephanopoulos asked Kinzinger on Sunday why so few of his Republican colleagues have come forward to call for Trump’s impeachment, instead asking Trump to resign.

“I think a lot of it is fear. You know there’s fear that infects so many sides of the debate right now,” responded Kinzinger. 

“But if you’re going to be fearful — just my humble opinion — if you’re going to be fearful in this job, it may not be the right job for you at this moment in time.”

“I think the best thing for the country to heal would be for him to resign. The next best thing is the 25th Amendment. That’s why I call on Vice President Pence to do it,” added Kinzinger. “This is the thing that just gets us out in the debate in Congress, it doesn’t victimize Donald Trump and makes him look as bad as he has been here and its leadership.”