Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger says he'll tell his son that Trump was 'the worst president the United States of America ever had'

• Kinzinger says he'll tell his son Trump was "the worst president the United States of America ever had."
• "He was a liar. He was a charlatan," he added.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois declared former President Donald Trump to be "the worst president the United States of America ever had" in an interview after his censure by the Republican National Committee.

Appearing on CNN's "New Day" on Monday, Kinzinger mentioned the recent birth of his son, Christian, saying he wanted him to get "a full accounting of what happened on January 6" when he's old enough to begin learning about history.

"That's going to be something I think in 5 or 10 years is going to be hard to explain, if you're not on the side of truth," the Illinois Republican quipped.

Asked by the anchor John Berman what he would tell his own son about Trump, Kinzinger laced into the former president.

"I'm going to tell him he was the worst president the United States of America ever had," Kinzinger said. "He was a liar. He was a charlatan."

He went on to say that Trump was "a man with a more fragile ego than anybody I've ever met," saying the former president "walks around like the tough guy, but he's the one that gets more offended and wounded and sad than anybody I know."

Kinzinger, one of just two Republicans serving on the January 6 committee, also reiterated his belief that Trump poses a threat to democracy.

"I'm also going to tell him that it was the moment that I hope America hit the bottom of its slide towards authoritarianism, and the moment we woke up," he said, referring to Trump's presidency. "I think we're going to look back and say, wow, that was a moment we might have flown too close to the sun, and we can never do that again."

—John Berman (@JohnBerman) February 7, 2022

Kinzinger, no stranger to harsh language, also called Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri "one of the worst human beings" and a "con artist" after the senator urged President Joe Biden to block Ukraine from joining NATO amid fears of a potential Russian invasion of that country.

Both Kinzinger and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming were censured on Friday by the national party for their participation on the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The censure resolution referred to the committee as a "Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse," prompting outcry even from some conservatives.

One of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection, Kinzinger decided not to run for reelection this year.