Hutchinson to Newsmax: Not Expecting Trump to Drop Out

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is campaigning for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has called for former President Donald Trump to step out of the race as his indictment could be a distraction from other issues, but he told Newsmax Friday that he doesn’t expect that to happen.

“I don’t expect him to and there is no requirement for him to step aside,” Hutchinson said on Newsmax’s “National Report.” “The Constitution sets out the requirement for president and so we’re going to have an election. We’re going to have a primary and the voters are going to decide this and I’m absolutely fine [with that]. I think that is exactly what it should be.”

But, Hutchinson added, “when I said that anybody who is under indictment should step aside, that’s really a reference to my consistent view as governor that I’ve always said the position that you seek is more important than any individual person, particularly the presidency.”

The indictment will serve as a “great distraction” that makes it difficult to get voters’ attention on major issues such as the economy, border security, the fentanyl crisis, whatever you have,” said Hutchinson.

But at the end of the day, the voters will decide who should be the nominee, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson said he is a former federal prosecutor, and he would not have brought the charges that Trump is facing.

“There are other investigations that are going on,” he said. “We have just got to lay that aside and get back to the issues that this election should be decided upon, and I trust the voters will be able to sort through that.”

Hutchinson acknowledged he’s still not getting the attention that Trump has, or even that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not announced he’s in the race, but said he’s pleased with his announcement on Sunday and that he will have his formal announcement on April 26 in Bentonville, Ark.

But still, to break out as a candidate, Hutchinson said it will be important to be “very very clear” with his stance on Trump’s leadership.

“I think that while I supported him, I was chairman of his campaign in 2020 and I supported him in 2016, but if we’re going to beat Joe Biden, if we’re going to win back the White House, we have to have a different candidate,” said Hutchinson.

The nation “paid the price” for having Trump as a candidate in 2020, “and certainly 2022 didn’t turn out too well,” he added.

Hutchinson said he’ll also stress his credentials, noting that as governor, his experience in “lowering taxes, leading the cause of freedom during the pandemic, making sure that we have a sound energy policy for our future, these are issues that I will be talking about in my experience.”

Hutchinson also noted that he has served as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and that as a member of Congress, he worked on national security issues.

“That’s what I think will also put me in a good position with the voters, because of fentanyl, our relationship with China,” he said. “It is our support of Ukraine that divides us as well, and so I’m gonna be clear on these issues. I believe in a great future for America, and I think I will stand out based on that optimistic view of our country and my ability to solve problems.”

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