GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson Bashes Trump After Cheney Exile: ‘We Should Not’ Make Him ‘The Leader of Our Party’

Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) slammed former President Donald Trump while condemning his fellow Republicans for pushing Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) out of her leadership role.

Hutchinson spoke to The View on Monday, where Joy Behar asked whether he still has a place in the Republican Party since Hutchinson defended Cheney before her ouster. Hutchinson said he didn’t question his place in the GOP, but as he went on with his comments, he added “the fact is everyone in America sees this as a punitive measure for someone speaking their conscience, and that’s not good.”

“Secondly, it looks like the former president is directing who can serve in leadership and that’s not good,” Hutchinson continued. “There’s multiple voices that represent the Republican Party today. We should not de facto make the former president as the guardian of our party or the leader of our party.”

Hutchinson’s comments refer to how Cheney’s ouster stemmed from the fact that she refuses to acknowledge Donald Trump as the head of the GOP, nor is she falling in line with the former president’s lies about the 2020 election. Hutchinson insisted Cheney still has a voice in their party, and that in order for the GOP to win the election, “we’ve got to come together and we have to come together around principles and not simply a personality.”

Behar followed up by asking the governor where he stands on Trump’s lie that President Joe Biden didn’t actually win the 2020 election.

“Absolutely Biden won the election. Trump lost the election,” Hutchinson answered. He went on by saying that “regretfully,” many of his fellow Arkansans believe Trump’s false claims even though “the election was not stolen.”

Watch above, via ABC.