It’s always amusing when Adam Kinzinger, the self-proclaimed defender of democracy, gets fact-checked on live TV. This time, CNN’s Scott Jennings had the honors, giving Kinzinger a much-needed history lesson about Democrats’ repeated challenges to presidential election results over the years. Spoiler alert: they’ve done it a lot. But hey, why let facts get in the way of Kinzinger’s ongoing audition for a permanent spot on MSNBC?
Kinzinger boldly claimed that both parties “always accepted the presidential election” until Donald Trump came along in 2020. This was supposed to be the mic-drop moment where he paints Republicans as the sole offenders in questioning election outcomes. Except there’s just one problem: it’s blatantly false. Jennings wasted no time calling him out, pointing to the multiple times Democrats have objected to Republican victories this century. Let’s just say the smugness in Kinzinger’s tone didn’t hold up well under scrutiny.
Jennings reminded viewers that Democrats objected to electoral votes in 2000, 2004, and 2016—every single time a Republican won the White House in the 21st century. The objections weren’t just token gestures either. In 2000, Democrats, still bitter over the Florida recount, went to the mat to challenge George W. Bush’s victory.
In 2004, despite Bush winning Ohio by a comfortable margin, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones filed a formal objection. And in 2016, Democrats couldn’t accept Donald Trump’s win without peppering it with claims of Russian interference and shouting objections during the certification process.
Kinzinger, scrambling to salvage his point, tried to move the goalposts, insisting that he’s “never seen the speaker or the leader of the Democrats” challenge election results. Nice pivot, Adam, but it’s irrelevant. The party’s actions—whether led by leadership or rank-and-file members—speak for themselves. Democrats have played the same game they now pretend to abhor, but they’d like you to believe it’s only “undemocratic” when Republicans do it.
What’s even more laughable is Kinzinger’s attempt to draw some moral distinction between the two parties’ actions. Sure, Ted Cruz and other Republicans objected to the certification of the 2020 election, a move they believed was justified given widespread concerns about mail-in voting and election integrity. But here’s the kicker: Democrats’ objections were often based on just as much (if not more) political theater. Remember 2016, when Democrats couldn’t accept Trump’s win without throwing a fit on the House floor? Or how about their refusal to drop the “Russia collusion” narrative long after it was debunked?
MUST WATCH🚨 10 minutes of Democrats denying election results.
Democrats objected to the certification of presidential elections in 2000, 2004, and 2016.
Will Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith arrest these Democrats who made false statements and denied these elections?… pic.twitter.com/fgTz18v5re
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 2, 2023
Jennings didn’t let Kinzinger off the hook, pressing him on his own admission that Democrats did object in those elections. The difference is that Democrats want everyone to forget their objections ever happened so they can keep pretending their moral high ground is a mountain and not a molehill.
On CNN: Adam Kinzinger Gets Schooled On Democrats Challenging Election Results
CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings clashed with former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois on Monday over the history of political parties challenging presidential election… pic.twitter.com/497hpkxi8s
— RVM News (@redvoicenews) January 7, 2025
Here’s the truth: Democrats questioning elections is nothing new, but they want the public to believe Trump’s objections in 2020 were somehow unprecedented. They’re banking on short memories and willing accomplices in the media to spin that tale. The problem for Kinzinger—and the leftist revisionists—is that people like Scott Jennings are willing to remind them of the inconvenient truth: Democrats wrote the playbook on contesting elections. And now, they’re outraged when Republicans use it.
