January 6 ‘disqualifies’ Donald Trump from GOP presidential nomination, says Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson

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WASHINGTON — Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas on Sunday said pro-Trump on January 6, 2021, “disqualifies” Donald Trump from winning the 2024 GOP nomination as he considers his own challenge to the former president.

“I don’t believe that Donald Trump should be the next president of the United States. I think he’s had his opportunity there. I think Jan. 6 really disqualifies him for the future. And so, we move beyond that. And that’s what I’m going to be committed to,” Hutchinson, who will soon travel to the early state primary of Iowa, told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

Karl pressed Hutchinson on whether that view meant he would definitely not support Trump should Trump emerge as the Republican nominee for the White House in two years.

Hutchinson stopped short and said only that he would consider options in what is likely to be a crowded field.

“I want to see what the alternatives are. And it’s too early, Jonathan, to get into what might happen in 2024. That issue will come up. But I want to see everything I can do to make sure there’s an alternative and Donald Trump is not the nominee of the party. That’s the first thing, and let’s figure out how to do that,” Hutchinson said.

His comments came after the House panel investigating the 2021 attack on the Capitol recently referred criminal charges for Trump and others to the Justice Department over their alleged role in the violence, including that the committee said Trump was conspiring to defraud the US and aid insurgencies.

Trump has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong and has accused the House committee of politically harassing him.

Hutchinson has continued to say he doesn’t think Trump should be the nominee in 2024 but acknowledged in his “This Week” interview that the former president remains a “front-runner,” citing recent polling and his recognition of his name from his celebrity status and four years in the white house.

However, Hutchinson said he disagrees with the party’s considerations to introduce a rule in the 2024 primary debate that binds presidential candidates to support the ultimate GOP nominee.

“I think it’s a mistake to do that. I think you obviously have a divided party in the sense that you have a base of loyal Trump supporters. But you have what to me is even a larger majority of those who say, ‘We want to go in a different direction,'” he said.

Hutchinson strongly suggested she would make her own run after Trump launched his third presidential campaign in November. But he told Karl that there was nothing to announce yet.

“Obviously, I’m going to Iowa later this month. I’m excited about that. But no decision has been made now. And we can’t make a decision until a little bit later. But I want to be a part of the solutions for America,” he said.

That vision of problem-solving, he said, is one way other conservatives can differentiate themselves from Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 race.

“He didn’t define the Republican Party. And we need to have other voices. … This is an opportunity for other voices to rise up that will be problem-solving, conservative minds. And they can shape the future of Republican Party but also give proper balance to [President Joe] Biden’s failed policies. And, to me, that’s what we should be doing in 2023,” Hutchinson said.

Looking ahead to other possible contenders in 2024, Hutchinson said Trump — despite his continued popularity within the GOP — no longer has the appeal of being “new” to the political scene. He argued that Trump’s mixture of “mess” and “anger” could be a turnoff.

“That’s not a new thing anymore. And so I think people have moved away from it rather than embraced it,” he said.

“You just have to have a message that’s true to yourself, a message that solves the problem and says, ‘This is what we need to do as a country.’ And that, to me, is the right contrast,” he said.

Hutchinson, who served four years in the House before serving in other federal and state roles, also tapped Rep.-elect George Santos, RN.Y., after it was revealed following Santos’ midterm election win that he made up or embellished certain parts of his resume and personal life.

“There needs to be accountability for that. That’s not acceptable. I don’t know if you can do it until you sit him down but the Ethics Committee should definitely deal with it, and he needs to be held accountable for that,” Hutchinson said. “That is politically unacceptable. It destroys the trust between voters and their elected officials.”

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