Arkansas GOP Governor Asa Hutchinson, who will soon be ending a second term in the state’s chief executive position, which he was legally barred from running for a third time, was sharply critical of Donald Trump in a new interview with the Associated Press and lambasted the possibility of him winning the Republican Party’s next nomination for president.
Trump is the only major Republican contender who has already announced a candidacy, although others who might do so, like Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, are already seeing quite positive poll numbers. DeSantis has led Trump in some presidential primary polling at both national and state levels. As for Hutchinson, he might also run for president, although he too has yet to confirm his choice. He is a former Congressman who also spent time in federal service in the presidential administration of George W. Bush and is now being replaced as Arkansas governor by former Trump White House official Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“That’s really the worst scenario,” Hutchinson said when asked about the possibility of Trump once again winning the nomination. “That’s almost the scenario that Biden wishes for. And that’s probably how he got elected the first time. It became, you know, a binary choice for the American people between the challenges that we saw in the Trump presidency, particularly the closing days, versus Biden, who he made it that choice.” Although it rather distinctly seems Hutchinson won’t support Trump’s primary bid, the Associated Press said he didn’t dismiss the possibility of supporting Trump if he wins — even if he’s pessimistic about the prospects Trump has. Hutchinson is taking an approach different from Republican members of Congress Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom — despite their conservative records — specifically supported Dems for key races in this year’s recently held midterms.
Hutchinson also condemned Trump for recently pushing the idea of doing away with at least portions of the Constitution in service of his ambitions to get back in power before the 2024 presidential election. He called Donald’s rhetoric “so out of line and out of step with America that it almost does not deserve a response,” adding: “It hurts our country… I mean, any leader, former president that says suspend the Constitution is tearing at the fabric of our democracy. And so we want to make sure that the people know that it’s Republicans that support the rule of law.”
Broadly, Hutchinson was also among those criticizing Trump and the obsession with the results of the 2020 presidential election after Republicans saw losses in numerous highly contested races during this year’s elections. Trump’s picks lost in all five of the House races from the three dozen rated as most competitive by the Cook Political Report in which he made endorsements, and across seven races where his Save America PAC spent, Trump’s pick won in just a single election (the Ohio Senate race).
Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons
