A potential 2024 presidential run from ex-President Donald Trump might have a rough time. Over the weekend, during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Gov. Asa Hutchinson — a Republican from Arkansas — said that he would not support Trump if he runs again in 2024. Hutchinson is not some kind of secret liberal, and in 2020, Trump won Arkansas by some 28 percent! Nevertheless, Hutchinson was rather unequivocal in his remarks, insisting that the party needs “different personalities” for moving into the future. If Hutchinson is saying this, how many other Republicans would say the same?
Hutchinson told CNN host Dana Bash as follows:
‘No, I wouldn’t [support Trump in 2024]. It’s time, and he’s got a good family — I’ve worked with Ivanka and others, and they love America, but I would not support him for re-election in 2024. He’s gonna have a voice, as former presidents do, but there’s many voices in the party, and again, he should not define our future. We’ve gotta define it for ourselves, and that has to be based upon the principles that really gave us the strength in America.’
The governor did note that, in his view, the Republican Party should address some of the same issues that Trump addressed, but he was unequivocal in his insistence that the person leading the party for the 2024 presidential election should not be Donald Trump. Watch Hutchinson’s comments below:
"I would not support him for reelection in 2024" — Republican governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson on whether he'd support Trump if he runs again pic.twitter.com/ehUNNpNDsE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 21, 2021
It’s unclear whether Trump would be interested in running again in 2024, although it’s pretty clear that he does intend to maintain some kind of political voice. Soon, he’ll be speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, which will mark his first in-person appearance at an event since leaving the White House. Trump’s so-called Save America political action committee ended last year with tens of millions of dollars after months of successful post-election fundraising off the lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged for Biden.
Another symbol of Trump’s potentially tenuous position in the Republican Party going forward is the fact that, recently, seven Republican Senators — out of 50 overall — voted in favor of his conviction at the end of his Senate impeachment trial over a charge of incitement of insurrection. Trump clearly hasn’t exactly grown his fundamental base of political support
