Harris Faulkner Calls Out Asa Hutchinson for Dodging Her Question About Supporting Trump If He’s the GOP Nominee

As the GOP presidential candidates gather in Iowa to share fried food and their platforms, one thing looms over all of them as they approach the first televised debate: the Republican National Committee’s pledge that all who debate will agree to support the eventual nominee. With former President Donald Trump as the current frontrunner, that pledge is giving a few candidates pause, and Trump has said he will not sign the pledge. On Fox News, anchor Harris Faulkner tried to get former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to answer the question of whether or not he will support the GOP nominee if it’s Trump.

Faulkner brought up an op-ed by Byron York of the Washington Examiner in which he called the RNC pledge a “trap”:

If Trump refuses to sign and the RNC bans him from debates, then the party has banished its leading candidate. If Trump refuses to sign and the RNC relents and lets him participate, then the RNC will forfeit any authority it has over the process. It’s a terrible choice.

When asked by Faulkner for his reaction, Hutchinson called the pledge “meaningless” and added that Trump clearly agrees:

The whole idea of the pledge is a bad idea. We should support the nominee of the party, but we shouldn’t be signing blind pledges that are meaningless to it. Obviously, Donald Trump indicates that it is meaningless.

But Faulkner kept pushing:

Faulkner: So are you saying that no matter who it would turn out to be as a Republican, you wouldn’t support the Republican who might go to the White House?

Hutchinson: I’ve always supported the Republican nominee. I fought hard in Arkansas–

Faulkner: And if it’s Trump?

Hutchinson: … building the Republican party. … But we have also fought against a pledge. And so the pledge is just, it doesn’t help us bring in independents and suburban voters. And so we need to make sure we can broaden the tent, not narrow it. We have always come together in various ways, but this year is more challenging than ever before because Trump has indicated he’s not going to support some of the nominees. And so they’re holding back on it. Let’s see how it develops.

Faulkner: All right.

Hutchinson: But I expect to be able to support the nominee.

If that didn’t really seem like an answer to her question, it’s because it wasn’t. Faulkner called Hutchinson on it:

Faulkner: Okay. You kind of dodged my question. If it’s Trump, would you back him?

Hutchinson: Well, let’s… I don’t expect it to be Trump. And so it shouldn’t be a challenge for us.

Faulkner: Okay. I got it.

Watch the video above via Fox News.