Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Saturday said former President Donald Trump should not be the voice of the GOP going forward.
Mr. Hutchinson, who chairs the bipartisan National Governors Association, made his remarks during a press availability as the group kicked off its 2022 Winter Meeting in Washington.
“I do not believe Trump is the one to lead our party and our country again as president,” Mr. Hutchinson said. “That’s what the election is all about.”
“The Republican Party has many different voices,” he said. “And it’s important in this time to have those voices, and they should be concentrating on this election cycle.”
Mr. Hutchinson has been critical of the former president’s claims that the November 2020 election was stolen.
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.
Mr. Trump has continued to claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and the matter has become a key litmus test for local and national political candidates bartering for his endorsement.
The former president has hinted that he will run in the 2024 election, though has he not announced his candidacy formally. He continues to maintain a tight grip on the Republican Party.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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