Republican Governor Gets Real About Trump: ‘There’s a Cost That Comes with His Endorsement’
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) commented on the diminished standing of former President Donald Trump after Herschel Walker’s loss in Georgia Tuesday.
The GOP governor said the disappointing midterms for the GOP proves that Trump’s endorsement in close races comes with a “cost.”
While Trump often brags about his endorsement record, he is 2-14 in battleground state races won by President Joe Biden after his hand-picked candidate in Georgia lost, giving Democrats an outright majority in the Senate.
Hutchinson joined CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday to discuss the state of the GOP. He pointed to traditional Republicans such as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R), who he noted won easily in Georgia against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Hutchinson said Kemp won by governing as a conservative and rejecting conspiracy theories.
“I really believe that you look at governor Kemp, he won handily in Georgia and he embraced all of those values. Our candidates in Iowa and other places in the same way,” Hutchinson said. “So, the midterm election was not a rejection of Republican principles, it was just a rejection of certain candidates that are not addressing the needs of people and not following the Constitution and democracy.”
Burnett asked, “What do you say to Republicans who still think that Trump is the ticket to victory for the GOP?”
Hutchinson responded:
I think that number is diminishing, first of all. And secondly, the facts do not bear that out, that Trump is a ticket to victory. There’s a cost that comes with his endorsement. We saw this time and time again in the midterm elections. And whenever candidates talk about commonsense conservative values and address the challenges of inflation and energy costs, they win on the Republican side because the voters trust Republican principles and ideas.
Hutchinson said he is confident the GOP will get back on track in 2024 as voters will reject stolen election “conspiracy theories.”
Watch above, via CNN.
