After announcing his 2024 presidential bid, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson discussed how he plans to tackle the border crisis, China relations and economic volatility – all while calling on former President Trump to bow out of the race.
"I state my principles and convictions that I believe the office that we seek is always more important than any of us individually, and the presidency even more so," Hutchinson said on "The Big Money Show" Monday. "And so whenever you're under indictment, I've had that principle as a governor for eight years that a public official under criminal charges ought to step aside for the good of the public and the office that you seek. That's as simple as it can be."
Hutchinson claimed the Republican Party should be looking for nominee "alternatives" as Donald Trump is en route to New York where he’s set to be arraigned at a Manhattan criminal court for alleged 2016 "hush money" payments.
While recognizing the former president is unlikely to step out of the race, Hutchinson called on voters to resolve this national debate over Trump at the ballot box.
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"He's going to stay in the race, but you either say 'he's our nominee' or you get in there and fight for alternatives. That's my choice, that I want to give alternatives, a consistent conservative message that also brings common sense and does not focus on the past, but the future," Hutchinson clarified. "I think those are choices that the GOP wants to have."
Keeping in line with focusing on America’s future, the former governor expressed his intentions to prioritize policy that addresses fentanyl and migrant crossings along the southern border, rising military tensions with China and excessive government spending.
"It's about who can deal with the fentanyl crisis at the southern border, who can be tough with China, and to make sure we have a strong America, and who can make sure that we stop spending so much at the federal level that causes high-interest rates and high inflation," Hutchinson explained. "These are things that I've done as a governor, as head of the DEA, Homeland Security. That experience really focuses on the needs that we have as a country."
"Whenever you look at the future of our country, we need to have a leader that brings out the best of America, and that's in the best of our opportunities, the best of our freedoms and the best of our common goodness, and should not appeal to our worst instincts," he added.
America’s most "serious incursion," the governor argued, is China and its espionage efforts. Hutchinson reacted to news that broke earlier that morning indicating Beijing did obtain sensitive information with its spy flight earlier this year.
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"If I'm president and I look at foreign policy, the most important thing is: don't show weakness, show strength," Hutchinson said. "Show strength, and that deters aggression by our enemies and our adversaries. President Biden showed weakness in Afghanistan that led to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that led to China being more aggressive toward Taiwan."
"Strength is what you have to show," he reiterated. "We've got to rebuild the strength of America, and that's both in how we invest in our military, but also how we conduct ourselves. We're not [an] isolationist nation. We have to lead the world, and that's part of investing in our strength."
