Adam Kinzinger says that politics have become so tribal that some conservatives now "equate Donald Trump with the person of Jesus Christ," making any criticism of the former president an attack on their religion.

Speaking to MSNBC's Alex Wagner Tuesday evening, the Illinois Republican representative noted how his rejection of former President Trump has led to him being ostracized by his party. Kinzinger made the remarks the same evening Republican Representative Liz Cheney lost a primary battle after prolonged intense criticism of Trump, calling him a threat to the Constitution.

Wagner asked Kinzinger why so many Republicans were so enthralled with Trump that they voted against Cheney, "who otherwise is everything you could want from a conservative Republican." The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the Wyoming Republican voted along with the former president 93 percent of the time.


"We're such a tribalistic people that they fear being kicked out of their tribe," responded Kinzinger. "And so you accept anything because now Republicanism or conservatism or Trumpism becomes your identity."

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Christians for Trump
Supporters participate in a prayer during a campaign rally for then-President Donald Trump at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger says some conservatives equate Trump with Jesus Christ.
PHOTO BY WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
Kinzinger said that many pastors are "failing their congregation(s) by pushing Trumpism" at the pulpit and refusing to talk about how corrosive tribalism has become in politics.


"If you even come out against this amazing man, Donald Trump, [who] is obviously quite flawed, you are coming out against Jesus, against their Christian values," said Kinzinger. "And when you go after their religion, that violates the depths of who they are."

The six-term Illinois Republican previously described Trump as a threat to democracy for repeatedly claiming the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" or "stolen," a claim that has been repeatedly debunked by courts, independent state reviews and members of Trump's own administration.