Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon spoke at the event on Thursday
AFP

Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who broke with his party over the Capitol attack, blasted California Governor Gavin Newsom for hosting former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon on his podcast This Is Gavin Newsom.

In a video posted on social media, Kinzinger rejected that having a conversation with Bannon meant "learning about other people," as Newsom has so far hosted right-wing personalities like Charlie Kirk. His podcast, Newsom says, seeks to understand the MAGA movement and its appeal.

"We already know what our disagreements are with the MAGA movement. I want to understand what the motivations are, the legitimacy of those motivations, and just really understand where people are coming from," Newsom said when explaining his decision.

Kinzinger, however, flatly rejected that hosting Bannon was a reasonable step. "Wtf does Gavin Newsom think he's accomplishing besides torching his prospects for the future? Have real conservatives of which Bannon and Charlie Kirk ain't," he said.

"I am in shock at the stupidity of Gavin Newsom inviting Steve Bannon on his podcast. Many of us on the right sacrificed careers to fight Bannon, and Newsom is trying to make a career and a presidential run by building him up. Unforgivable and insane," he added.

Bannon recently made headlines after being accused of performing a Nazi-style salute at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February.

During his address, Bannon emphasized the need for relentless political combat, punctuating his words with a stiff-armed gesture, that many observers interpreted as a Nazi salute, while urging the audience to "fight, fight, fight."

Kinzinger served in the January 6 committee that investigated the assault on the Capitol. Bannon was repeatedly summoned to appear before the body, but refused and spent months behind bars as a result.

"Bannon is the one who has basically authored where we are and what Donald Trump wants and because Gavin Newsom's going to run for president and he thinks he's going to be this healer, he brings on this nationalist," Kinzinger said during another passage of his video.

Originally published on Latin Times