Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announces on ABC news that he will be running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Speaking in the customary tones of an evangelical minister trained in the dark arts of using a righteous serpent tongue, Mr. Hutchinson indicates that he carries a higher moral authority to sit in judgement of what the professional Republican Party truly needs. The professional Republican Party likely anticipates dozens of votes for Hutchinson. WATCH:
He’s not running for President; he’s running to be the silver-haired serpent tongue of the professional Republican apparatus. Creepy vibes are all over this guy…
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CHIEF WHASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: When I spoke to you earlier this year, you said you were thinking about running for president. Have you made a decision? Are you running?
ASA HUTCHINSON (R), FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: I have made a decision. And my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United States. While the formal announcement will be later in April, Bentonville, I wanted to make clear that to you, Jonathan, I am going to be 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.
That inspires me when I see everyday Americans just saying, give us good leadership, give us common sense, consistent conservatism, and optimism about our great country. And that inspires me. And I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.
KARL: Now, you’ve got a lot of experience. You’ve been a prosecutor. You’ve been a member of Congress. You’ve been a governor. You’ve been director of the DEA.
But most people outside of Arkansas don’t know who you are. How do you break through?
HUTCHINSON: Well, a lot of hard work and good messaging. But I’ve spent some time in Iowa, and I love the response that I get there. And so, it’s still about retail politics in many of these states.
And also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I’ve seen in my lifetime. And so, my message of experience, of consistent conservatism, of hope for our future and solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates. And whenever I make the final announcement, I’ll be everywhere. And I think it’s a plan that can work in this environment.
KARL: And how does the indictment of Donald Trump by the Manhattan D.A. change this race?
HUTCHINSON: Well, that adds to the unpredictability of it. And I think it’s a sad day for America that we have a former president that’s indicted. And so, it’s a great distraction.
But, at the same time, we can’t set aside what our Constitution requires, which is electing a new leader for our country, just because we have this side controversy and criminal charges that are pending. And the American people are going to have to separate what the ideas are for our future, going to talk about border security and the economy. We have to talk about those.
We have to talk about the leadership of America in the world whenever you have Russia and China taking advantage of any weakness that America shows. So, we can’t be sidetracked for a year and a half.
KARL: You suggested recently that if Trump were to get indicted, that he should drop out of the race. Do you believe that now that he’s been indicted, should he drop out?
HUTCHINSON: Well, I do. First of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so, for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a side show and distraction, and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process, and there is a presumption of innocence.
But the second reason is, throughout my eight years as governor, and as a political leader, I’ve always said that people don’t have to step aside from public office if they’re under investigation. But if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person.
KARL: And he should step aside and no longer run?
HUTCHINSON: Well, he should. But, at the same time, we know he’s not. And there’s not any constitutional requirement. And so he’s going to pursue, and I understand that, but I stated my principles and belief and how I think it should be handled.
But he’s going to proceed on. And so he’s going to be a candidate. And I think, ultimately, the voters are going to have to decide this.
KARL: Do you trust this process in New York? Do you think he can get a fair trial, a fair hearing in New York?
HUTCHINSON: Well, the important thing is that the grand jury found probable cause. And that’s the standard for any criminal charges in our society. And the presumption of innocence follows you. And then there’s a trial. And the termination of guilt or innocence. That’s the American system. We don’t want to erode confidence in our entire criminal justice system simply because we don’t like the beginning parts of the case.
KARL: What about the fundamentals of the case? Put aside the legal issues here. The idea of hush money for a porn star to conceal an alleged affair, does some of this end up making the evangelical voters who supported Trump so strongly in the past think twice about supporting him again?
HUTCHINSON: Well, let’s look at the three different investigations. One is the hush money out of New York. Secondly it is the request and pressure for votes out of Georgia. And the third one, of course, is the mishandling of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. Those are three very serious investigations. You might say one of them doesn’t showcase anything. But when you look at all three of them combined, it should give Americans pause.
When you ask about the evangelical community, I’m part of that.
KARL: Yes.
HUTCHINSON: And I believe that the evangelical community understands that we need to have a leader that can distance themselves from some of the bad instincts that drive Mr. Trump. And I hope that we can do that in the future.
KARL: You recently said that your lane is the non-Trump lane, as opposed to the anti-Trump lane. What do you mean by that?
HUTCHINSON: Well, it means that I’m providing an alternative to the former president, Donald Trump. Now, when I say non-Trump, I want – I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters, I want to be able to speak to all the party and say, this is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America. I think we need to spend less at the federal level. These are the values that I represent.
KARL: Chris Christie, speaking in New Hampshire recently, said that the key is Republicans need to be fearless in taking on Donald Trump. That does not seem to be the case. I mean look at how candidates and potential candidates have reacted to the indictment. I mean they’ve rallied to Trump’s defense, effectively?
HUTCHINSON: I know there’s going to be some that say I should be tougher on the prosecutor, I should be tougher on the unfairness of this. I’ve expressed my view that I wouldn’t bring those charges if I was a prosecutor. But let’s let the system work.
And what I don’t want to do as a leader is to undermine everything that is good about America, which is our criminal justice system. It’s what sets us apart.
KARL: I mean there are a lot of Republicans attacking that judicial system and that legal system right now.
HUTCHINSON: And I’m different.
KARL: If Donald Trump manages to win the nomination again, becomes the Republican candidate for president, will you support him?
HUTCHINSON: I’m running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future. And it shouldn’t hinge upon anything else.
KARL: But you couldn’t see yourself supporting Trump again?
HUTCHINSON: I don’t believe he should be the next leader of our country.
(END Transcript)
Dead ringer practically for Sessions.
Yah. He was an evangelical too. Spit.
I’m in that category and I wouldn’t give you 2 cents for either one of them.
looks like some people need to launder some money: hutchison runs for office (read: money)
he has about as much chance of winning lead goat herder in tibet.
understand the game here…people that run for office that have zero chances, do so because they can divide SOME VOTERS, and collect a pay check and use PAC money and dark money and NGO money to launder illicit cash.
take notice of the recent O’Keefe report: yes, millions of americans did NOT contribute tens of millions of dollars with dozen, hundreds, and even millions of separate donations each.
the entire campaign funding operation ON ALL SIDES is nothing more than a corrupt scheme to launder money and tip the scales so that king makers can get money in the “right hands” mostly the media corporations….doing so ensures HANDS OFF to the ONE. People like hutchison run only for that purpose.
God Bless America
Don’t say “goats” and “Asa Hutchison” in the same paragraph.
It might excite the Arkansas perv.
ASA!
He’ll get 1% or less in the first primaries.
It’s OK because Sundance’s Hollywood Squares needs fill up so we can have a laugh at those who think they can beat President Trump..
Another useless RINO pig wanting to feed at the gov’t trough one last time.
Hutchinson is just another worthless RINO that I will never vote for. I see DeSantis the same way.
Hutchinson is a has been. Not a will be.
Asa and everyone else running for president against President Donald J Trump
can go suck a lemon.
They are dead to me. And some of them, hello Asa!, hello Chris Christie!, have been dead to me
for a long time.
Asa Hutchinson was the guy who made sure Barry Seals could fly George Bush’s product to Bill Clinton’s airport.
Asa has been compromised for years. He’ll sell out the Nation, the Constitution, and our liberties an hour slower than even-more-creepy “Joe Biden.” And Asa has no choice; his true masters now want some action for all of the investments they’ve made in him and his ilk. His masters know he’s a loser, but they don’t have a bench anymore.
Hauling Asa out for this forced announcement just shows how desperate the Deep State trai tors and the pathetic GOP Establishment have become, and the lack of real options they have anymore.
He’ll crash soon enough, and become another loser tossed out of the way.
Most importantly, another agent of Evil is exposed and burned.
Assa WHO???
what a fricking joke.
Asa and son have a Communist China problem.
Good luck nancy.
Is this old fool still around? He was ancient years ago.
He needs to retire to the Old, Idiot, RINO, Retirement Home, along with the Bushs, the Cheneys, the Romneys, the McConnells, etc. — and that goofy Carl Rove dude, too.
From one evangelical to …
WOW !!
Asa is just loaded with personality and command presence – everyone else should just throw in the towel.
Ronna will have an easy job putting Asa in the White House.
Not even the cheating computers could manufacture enough fake digital votes to steal it from Asa.
He’s da man!
/sarc off/
Asa is a pathetic RINO; just making a fool out of himself. He is the Mitch McConnell of Arkansas. He actually thinks he is important. We have heard that RINO bullcrap many times.