Republican lawmaker defended 'favorite' Fox News reporter as 'fair and unafraid' after Trump called for her firing

Talia Lakritz

Sep 6, 2020, 21:50 IST

Republican lawmaker defended 'favorite' Fox News reporter as 'fair and unafraid' after Trump called for her firing

President Donald Trump (left) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger defended Fox reporter Jennifer Griffin after President Trump called for her to be fired on Saturday.
Griffin had confirmed details first reported by The Atlantic's Jeffery Goldberg that Trump called American soldiers who had died in war "losers" and "suckers."
Kinzinger called Griffin "fair and unafraid" and said that "She’s one of my favorite reporters."

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois defended Fox reporter Jennifer Griffin after President Trump called for her firing on Saturday.

Griffin, a national security correspondent at Fox News, confirmed details first reported by The Atlantic's Jeffery Goldberg that Trump called fallen American soldiers "losers" and "suckers." She also confirmed reports that Trump did not want flags lowered to half-mast after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a veteran and former prisoner of war who often criticized Trump, died in 2018.

In a tweet, Trump wrote that "Jennifer Griffin should be fired for this kind of reporting."

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2020

Kinzinger, who is a veteran of the US Air Force, called Griffin "fair and unafraid," adding that the correspondent is "one of my favorite reporters."

—Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) September 5, 2020

Kinzinger had initially responded to reports of Trump's comments by calling for unnamed sources to go on the record and saying "This is either the most heinous hit job on a president or the most heinous comments made by a president."