There was a time when both parties would have harshly denounced a former president having dinner with a White nationalist and a musician who has expressed antisemitic sentiments.
Not just now, though.
Republicans have generally kept quiet since Donald Trump met with Nick Fuentes and Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago last week. Asa Hutchinson, the governor of Arkansas, has not.
Hutchinson said on “State of the Union” with AWN’s Dana Bash, “I don’t believe it’s a good idea for a leader that’s setting an example for the country or the party to meet with (an) avowed racist or anti-Semite.” “So it’s quite alarming, it shouldn’t happen, and we need to stop enabling the extremists in this way. Instead of giving them more power, you want to lessen it. Don’t go near it.
That’s right,
Hutchinson’s most recent remarks are consistent with how he is presenting himself in preparation for a potential 2024 presidential run: as the conservative movement’s conscience.
The idea is that the Republican Party will have to face its devotion to Trump, especially after the 2022 midterm elections. Hutchinson is attempting to lead this reckoning.
Hutchinson criticised Trump earlier this month, saying, “He’s a known quantity now, we know the instability that comes with him, and that’s really not the kind of leadership that’s healthy for America and really the future of our party.”
Hutchinson was arguing that the GOP needs to move past Trump as far back as May.
At the time, Hutchinson declared, “I’ve made it clear: I think we ought to have a different trajectory in the future.” “Trump done a lot of fantastic things for our country, but we need to go a different path,” the speaker said.
It’s not obvious if the party is prepared for Hutchinson’s judgement or if Hutchinson is the correct leader for it.
The résumé of Hutchinson is impressive. After serving in the US House and as the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration under the George W. Bush administration, he is currently completing his second term as governor of Arkansas. According to the Almanac of American Politics, he has established himself as a “pragmatic conservative” in Arkansas. He was reelected in 2018 with 65% of the vote.
Hutchinson, meanwhile, barely registers in the probable Republican field for 2024, where Trump continues to be well ahead. Of course, politics is a dynamic field, and unlikely candidates have successfully influenced and even won presidential primary elections.
Others in the GOP will probably try to take on this conscience-bearing position, most notably Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who both denounced Trump’s decision to have dinner with Fuentes and West.
Hutchinson’s plea to the conservative movement’s conscience is intriguing, though. Now the question is, who will listen?
