Former Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson announced Monday that she will not support Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“I do not and will never support Donald Trump as a presidential candidate,” the former Arkansas governor wrote. USA Today editorial.
“This is an expensive and difficult position to fill,” Hutchinson added, noting his long career in Republican politics.
Mr. Hutchinson, 73, accused Republican leaders and elected officials of “submissively clicking their heels” to Mr. Trump, 77, and said Mr. Trump was “redefining the image of the Republican Party.” “They are prioritizing individual egos over the public interest.”
The former Republican presidential candidate accused his party’s slated 2024 presidential candidate of supporting policies such as “old ideas of economic protectionism” and “abandoning NATO,” which are He called it “an abomination” to conservative principles.
“I am often asked if I think Trump is a threat to our democracy,” Hutchinson wrote. “I’m not very good at predicting the future, but we can learn from history and we should pay attention to what politicians say they’re going to do.”
He voted for Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, but said, “Liz Cheney’s book and [the Justice Department’s] The January 6th indictment made him reconsider supporting the 45th president again.
President Biden also won’t have Hutchinson’s support.
“Another important thing to note is that I will not be voting for President Joe Biden either,” Hutchinson wrote. “Biden’s weak border policies, poor economic performance, and low-growth energy policies do not justify reelection.”
Mr. Hutchinson’s presidential bid failed to garner significant support.
He participated in the first Republican primary debate last August, but was unable to qualify for any other debates after that.
Hutchinson dropped out of the race in January after receiving just 191 votes in the Iowa Republican caucus.
Former Vice President Mike Pence similarly announced last week that he would not support Trump in 2024 and would not vote for Biden.
