NEW YORK (AP) Republican former congressman Adam Kinzinger endorsed President Joe Biden on Wednesday, giving the Democrat a prominent new ally in his high-stakes campaign to win over moderate Republicans and independents this fall.
Kinzinger, a military pilot who emerged as a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump after the U.S. Capitol was attacked by Trumps supporters , described Trump as a direct threat to every fundamental American value in a video announcing the Biden endorsement.
While I certainly dont agree with President Biden on everything, and I never thought Id be endorsing a Democrat for president, I know that he will always protect the very thing that makes America the best country in the world: our democracy, said Kinzinger, who voted for Trump in 2020.
The former Illinois congressman also issued an ominous warning. Trump, he said, will hurt anyone or anything in pursuit of power.
Kinzingers announcement comes on the eve of the opening presidential debate and gives Biden an example he can raise Thursday night of a well-known Republican supporting him over Trump. Bidens camp is prioritizing outreach to moderate Republicans and independents alienated by Trumps tumultuous White House tenure.
Kinzinger becomes the highest-profile Republican official formally backing Biden, whose campaign earlier in the month tapped Kinzingers former chief of staff Austin Weatherford to serve as its national Republican outreach director. Republican former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan also endorsed Biden last month.
Ultimately, a number of prominent Republicans are expected to join Bidens campaign, with more influential names likely to be announced closer to the November election .
Shortly after Kinzinger announced his decision, Biden shared the endorsement video on social media and said he was grateful for the Republicans support.
This is what putting your country before your party looks like, Biden wrote on X.
Bidens team is trying to create what it calls a permission structure for Republican voters who would otherwise have a difficult time casting a ballot for the Democratic president.
Kinzinger developed a national profile as one of two Republicans who served on the Houses committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack . The committee highlighted a number of Trumps transgressions before and during the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol as Congress tried to certify the election results for Biden.
Kinzinger, who did not seek reelection in 2022 after voting to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, called on the GOP to change course.
To every American of every political party and those of none, I say now is not the time to watch quietly as Donald Trump threatens the future of America, said Kinzinger, who repeatedly described himself as a conservative in the video. Now is the time to unite behind Joe Biden and show Donald Trump off the stage once and for all.
In a statement Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez described Kinzinger as a true public servant who is a model for putting our country and our democracy over party and blind acquiescence to Trump.
Congressman Kinzinger represents the countless Americans that Donald Trumps Republican Party have left behind, she said. Those Americans have a home in President Bidens coalition, and our campaign knows that we need to show up and earn their support.
Trump and his allies have long dismissed Kinzingers efforts to rally Republicans against him. The former president publicly celebrated when Kinzinger didnt seek reelection and has called for the prosecution of Kinzinger and others who served on the Jan. 6 committee, part of his pattern of suggesting his opponents face government retribution.
Biden has been particularly focused on courting supporters of Republican former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who continued to win over a significant number of anti-Trump GOP primary voters throughout the spring even after suspending her campaign.
As part of Bidens sustained outreach to moderate voters in both parties, his campaign released an ad highlighting Trumps often-personal attacks against Haley, including his primary nickname of her as birdbrain and suggestion that shes not presidential timber.
Haley last month said she will vote for Trump in the general election.
Indeed, Trumps grip on his partys passionate base is stronger than ever. And the overwhelming majority of Republican elected officials are backing his 2024 campaign, even those few, like Haley, who worked against him in the primary phase of the campaign.
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