Former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson said former President Donald Trump has taken the Republican Party “back to bitterness.”
Hutchinson, who has announced his 2024 presidential bid, has fashioned himself as one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics. In an interview with NBC News, he doubled down on his criticism, portraying Trump as a candidate who doesn’t have what’s best in mind for the GOP.
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“Donald Trump has taken us back to bitterness. He’s taken us back to, you know what, a personal vendetta,” Hutchinson said. “Whenever you look at what he wants to do as president, it’s more about getting even with his political enemies than leading our country, which concerns me.”
“I want America’s freedoms to be the envy of the world — our democracy to be that they see this is how you transfer power from one leader to the next leader,” he continued, referencing the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Hutchinson wove criticism of Trump into his early April 2024 presidential announcement, pitching himself in contrast to the former president.
“I am going to be running. And the reason, as I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,” he said, referring to Trump. “I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.”
He went on to call for Trump to forfeit his candidacy after his indictment by a New York grand jury.
In Tuesday’s interview with NBC News, Hutchinson also touched on abortion, arguing that it wouldn’t have a major impact on the GOP’s electoral chances.
“It’s going to have a political impact,” Hutchison said, referring to the issue of abortion. “But it’ll settle as time goes on. The important thing for candidates, for anybody in the public arena, is to state your conviction.”
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“I don’t see [abortion] as an issue that’s going to hurt us long term,” he added.
The former Arkansas governor said he supported the status quo about abortion, saying it should be left to the states.
