When Adam Kinzinger arrived at Millikin, he brought with him much more than controversial political views.
He brought personal testimonies, hardships, and experiences. Experiences that not only shared information but invoked personal testimonies from a crowd he had never met before.
Before we met Kinzinger, we knew him as a man who called Donald Trump, a man who he once supported, a “small man who is afraid of his own shadow.”
And then the former United States Representative stepped out of the elevator on the third floor of the UC. The first thing we noticed was Kinzinger’s stature. He wasn’t small, but he was not exactly a man that could be described as imposing.
However, if you just listened to him speak on the radio or as a man behind a curtain, his booming voice and powerful, yet controversial, ideas made him seem larger than life. And no idea, especially in America’s society today, is more controversial than the idea of voting for Kamala Harris as a Republican.
“If being a Republican now is what Donald Trump is, I guess I am a RINO (Republican in Name Only) because I am not what he is,” Kinzinger said. “So, if you ever talk to your Republican friends again, just ask them, what is it [I] believed 10 years ago that [I don’t] now that makes [them] not like [me], or is it just that [I] don’t like Donald Trump? And if they’re being honest, they’ll say it’s just because [I] don’t like Donald Trump.”
Kinzinger is a man who despises former President Trump, which he made apparent during many of his appearances around the country. As someone who once voted for Trump, Kinzinger has truly made a complete 180 in his beliefs.
“I mean, I’m saying this honestly, and I know [Trump], he does not care about the United States of America,” Kinzinger said. “He cares about himself.”
Not only does Kinzinger not like Trump, but he also does not like where the Republican party has gone.
“Honestly, my opinion is there’s a strong parallel between the Republican party today and a cult now,” Kinzinger said.
Although many of his views have changed, Kinzinger still believes that conservatives have an important voice that needs to be heard on a liberal campus.
“This country needs good conservatives and good progressives,” he said. “But I have learned other viewpoints, and I have become that way. I would say ‘be who you are.’ If you are a conservative, please speak up. Let’s embrace our differences.”
Embracing differences is not an easy thing to accomplish in America today. Kinzinger has already received several threats for his beliefs, threats that extend far beyond himself. Many threats have been targeted at his family, and even his two-year-old son, Christian. However, he remains confident that America will forge ahead and overcome any possible adversity.
“I don’t want anyone giving up on this country,” Kinzinger said. “Christian deserves an awesome country, you deserve an awesome country, and your offspring deserve an awesome country.”
Kinzinger’s speech hit home, especially with veterans in attendance. As a former pilot in the United States Air Force, Kinzinger made it a point to thank all veterans in attendance for their service, especially Vietnam veterans. One of these veterans was David Watts, who formerly served in the Navy.
“Going into [the navy] as a young man, it builds character, it builds love of country, and it builds patriotism,” Watts said.
Throughout the last several years, the word patriotism has not been heavily associated with the Democrat party. However, things are seemingly starting to change.
“Without patriotism, and without decency, you don’t really have a democracy,” Watts said. “[The military] is a patriot thing, and its liberty and justice for all. It’s not for a party.”
Kinzinger’s main goal was not to put people down for their beliefs. His goal was simple: to spread the message about what he believes to be potential threats to democracy, Donald Trump being one of them.
“The most important thing is the preservation of democracy and making sure that Donald Trump ends up as a stain on our country and not as a reelected president.”
