Republican ex-Rep. Adam Kinzinger: Trump 'suffocated the soul of' the GOP

• Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger accused Donald Trump of having "suffocated the soul of the Republican Party," in his Democratic National Convention speech.
• Kinzinger represented Illinois in Congress from 2011 to 2023 and was one of only ten Republicans to vote to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
• Several former Trump voters and staffers spoke at the DNC this week, endorsing Harris in an effort to convince their fellow Republicans to vote against their party and its leader.

Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger in his Democratic National Convention speech that "Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party," endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris for president.

"His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness, sapping our strength, softening our spine, whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values," he said.

Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in Congress from 2011 to 2023, directed his speech not to the Democrats in Chicago's United Center Thursday night, but to members of his own party.

"I've learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret," he said. "The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do. And they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been."

"I've learned something about my party, too. Something I couldn't ignore," he continued. "The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance. From the principles that gave it purpose, to a man whose only purpose is himself."

Kinzinger, who in his speech said he "still hold[s] onto the label" of Republican, was a Trump