AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has been a steadfast critic of President Donald Trump, but tweeted that the military operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was the “right call” — albeit with a crucial caveat.
News broke in the wee hours of Saturday morning that the Trump administration had conducted air strikes in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, then captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and brought them to the U.S.
The strikes sparked loud criticism for multiple reasons, chiefly because Trump had not sought authorization from Congress beforehand and because of his pardon in December for Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras who was convicted of drug trafficking.
Kinzinger was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump during his second impeachment proceedings for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and served on the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. After his congressional district was redistricted, he opted to not run for re-election and has continued to be a vocal critic of the president.
Saturday morning, however, Kinzinger voiced support for Trump’s actions, at least partially.
A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Kinzinger began the morning with a taunt directed at Russia, whose forces have lost over a million soldiers but struggled to advance into Ukrainian territory: “Hey Russia…. Look what our military can do vs yours.”
He then urged his followers to be patient, writing that “it would very WISE for everyone to wait and see how Venezuela plays out before [we] know what is going to happen.”
Kinzinger then offered a rare for him statement agreeing with an action taken by Trump, writing that “Maduro was never the legitimate president of Venezuela.”
“The precision action by Delta to get Maduro without massive military occupation is a how it should be done,” Kinzinger added. “This was the right call. May Maduro face justice and the people of Venezuela be free.”
Kinzinger soon added a few tweets voicing concerns about the fact that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez remained in Caracas, writing that if Trump left her in power “then this was pointless.”
“Didn’t Trump just pardon a massive drug kingpin?” Kinzinger added a few minutes later, referencing Trump’s pardon of Hernandez.
Kinzinger also fired a response to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tweet supporting the strikes and capture of Maduro that said Maduro “is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government.”
“I sure hope you have a plan so the even worse VP is not now President,” wrote Kinzinger.
Mediaite reached out to Kinzinger for comment but did not receive a response.
The post ‘Right Call’: Fierce Trump Critic Adam Kinzinger Surprisingly Backs President’s Move to Capture Maduro — But Adds a Warning first appeared on Mediaite.