'This is just plain wrong': Republican congressman and Iraq veteran slams Trump for taking a shot at Biden and praising Kim Jong-un on Memorial Day weekend
- Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger blasted President Trump for taking a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
- 'It's Memorial Day Weekend and you're taking a shot at Biden while praising a dictator. This is just plain wrong,' Kinzinger tweeted
- He was criticizing a tweet from the president where Trump called Biden a 'swampman' with a 'low IQ'
Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger on Sunday blasted President Donald Trump for taking a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq twice and remains in the Illinois National Guard, complained about a tweet the president posted on Memorial Day weekend.
'It's Memorial Day Weekend and you're taking a shot at Biden while praising a dictator. This is just plain wrong,' Kinzinger wrote on Twitter.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger blasted President Trump for taking a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
Kinzinger, who also served in Afghanistan, frequently speaks on military matters and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He was one of the few Republicans to criticize their party's leader for his tweet.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the party's leadership on Capitol Hill, side stepped the question when asked about it on ABC's 'This Week.'
'I think that what we have seen so far with this president with respect to North Korea is that he’s doing the right thing in terms of the policy,' she said.
And she didn't bite when pressed on the issue.
'I would say you’ve got to judge based on actions, you’ve got to look where we are today and where we are today is the president walked away, he was not willing to accept a phony deal, which too many of his predecessors have been,' Cheney said.
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Kinzinger, a Republican lawmaker from Illinois retweeted Trump's tweet from Saturday calling Biden a 'swampman' with a 'low IQ.'
'North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?,' Trump wrote.
Trump was referring to a recent piece published by state-run media in North Korea.
The editorial was full of insults hurled at Biden, who was labeled a 'fool of low IQ' and an 'imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being.'
Biden, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, frequently slams Trump's relationships with 'dictators and tyrants' like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Andrew Bates, director of rapid response for Biden's campaign, hit back at the president.
'Given Vice President Biden's record of standing up for American values and interests, it's no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House,' he said.
Kinzinger did not endorse Trump in the 2016 election.
'I'm an American before I'm a Republican,' he told CNN at the time.
But Kinzinger has also defended the president.
He told MSNBC earlier this month he did not agree with fellow Republican Rep. Justin Amash that Trump should be impeached.
President Trump, during his state visit to Japan, took to twitter to criticize Biden
Kinzinger, in the middle, when he was in the Air Force
'I do disagree with him,' Kinzinger told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'
He argued special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's role in the 2016 election exonerated the president.
'There's no evidence of collusion and when it comes to the obstruction issue there's no final thing mentioned on that,' he noted.
Kinzinger was also asked about Trump's tough talk on Iran.
The president threatened the Islamic nation last weekend, writing on Twitter: 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!'
Kinzinger said he may not like Trump's words all the time but agreed Iran is a threat.
'I don't necessarily agree with how the president puts everything all the time but I think in case I think it's a legitimate threat from Iran,' he said.
