Rank and file Republicans may strongly support another run for president by Donald Trump, but some Republican governors aren’t so sure.
One of those governors, Arkansas’s Asa Hutchison, thinks it’s time for the party to move on from Trump.
“I do not believe Trump is the one to lead our party and our country again, as president,” Hutchinson told Business Insider while attending the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington.
Arkansas is a very red state, and it wouldn’t matter if Hutchison was for or against Trump. The former president would win the state easily.
But what about Arizona?
Several Republican governors at the conference either said they were focusing on their state or the next election when asked about Trump’s statement and whether they support him running.
“Any thought on 2024 is wasted energy at this time,” said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who leads the Republican Governors Association. “The elections that are in front of us are 2022, and that’s what I’m focused on as the chairman of RGA.”
Ducey is keeping his options open, which is smart politically, but you have to think Trump is making a list of the fence-sitters and will make life difficult for them at a later date.
Some governors — even strong Trump supporters — are keeping their powder dry for the time being.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill last year that would name a stretch of highway in his state after the former president. When asked about Trump’s future in presidential politics, Stitt said, “whatever the former president wants to do. I’m focused on Oklahoma right now, not all the national DC stuff.”
Hutchison has been critical of the stolen election meme and made it clear that he thinks it’s dangerous for the party not to move on from it.
When pressed by reporters on Saturday about Republican states rehashing the election results, Mr. Hutchinson held firm in his remarks and said the GOP should move on.
“I don’t believe the election was stolen,” he said. “I respect the results. They were challenged as need be, and the result is the fact that President Biden is in office. So it’s all about the future to me.”
“Anybody that wants to talk about the last election is going to lose the next election,” Mr. Hutchinson said.
Hutchison is repeating conventional wisdom about losing the next election if a political party keeps trying to replay the last one. The problem with conventional wisdom is that Trump rarely pays attention to it. What’s more, it doesn’t ordinarily apply to him. When you break conventions, there’s very little wisdom that can be gleaned from the effort.
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Trump’s latest hints come from a leaked video of him on the golf course calling himself the “45th and 47th president.” The former president will continue to tease his supporters, keeping interest piqued in his candidacy. Meanwhile, the left flails away at him as their real target — Republicans running for the House and Senate — will likely steamroll the Democratic Party in November.
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