Rep. Kinzinger: ‘It’s time’ for leaders to disavow QAnon

Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Sunday emphasized the importance of President Donald Trump and other leaders calling out QAnon — a set of far-right conspiracy theories that allege the existence of a “deep state” against Trump.

The Illinois Republican, who posted a video on YouTube explaining QAnon on Sunday morning, said it’s time for other lawmakers to definitively and emphatically denounce the theories.

While QAnon theories have circulated in recent years, they have received more attention since Marjorie Taylor Greene’s primary runoff win in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District on Tuesday.

Greene has vocally supported QAnon theories, and Trump endorsed her candidacy. The president went so far as to call her a “future Republican star” after her primary win. She is heavily favored to win in November.

Speaking on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Kinzinger said he supported Greene’s primary challenger, neurosurgeon John Cowan, in the runoff.

“I think up to maybe about a week ago there wasn’t a reason to denounce it because it didn’t need the attention, but now that it's made mainstream — we have a candidate that embraces it that won a primary,” he said.

In a briefing last week, Trump sidestepped a question about Greene’s support for QAnon. Kinzinger said it’s time for the president and leading lawmakers to disavow it.

“The president hasn’t fully denounced it or denounced it at all,” he said. “Now it's time for leaders to come out and denounce it.”

He added that it’s not a partisan issue, and that both Democrats and Republicans “have to denounce extremism in their own party because that’s where it's effective.”