In Iowa visit, Asa Hutchinson shares his vision for America

DES MOINES — Asa Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas and a potential presidential candidate, while in Iowa on Monday evening talked about his breadth of experience, his vision for America’s future, and what he thinks of former President Donald Trump’s legal issues.

Hutchinson said again that he will make a decision about running for president next month, but sounded like a candidate ready to pull the trigger. He told both reporters and members of the local Bull Moose Club, the conservative group to whom he spoke Monday night, to “stay tuned.”

Hutchinson told reporters that he feels his varied experience — a former red-state governor who also served in Congress and in President George W. Bush’s administration as head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security in the federal Homeland Security Department — is what will enable him to stand out among the field of Republican presidential candidates, should he decide to run.

“You combine that (experience as governor) with a federal experience, I think my background is unique,” Hutchinson told reporters Monday. “I’ll match that experience and the ideas we present with anyone.”

Hutchinson told the conservative group that as a federal prosecutor he “put away terrorists,” and said while governor of Arkansas he oversaw state tax reductions and pushed the state’s schools to reopen early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also called for “pro-growth” energy policy that includes a variety of sources, and warned against “woke ideology” and what he sees as the expansion of progressive policies from the federal government.

Hutchinson told reporters that, if he opts to run for president, he may not enter the race with strong national name recognition, but that Iowa and its first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses give him a chance to increase that recognition and convey his message.

“I don't have the nationwide name identification that some others from larger states who have larger megaphones, but that’s what’s good about Iowa. That’s what’s good about the opportunity to convey a consistent, conservative message and your vision for the future,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson also said he believes this year’s Republican presidential primary will be different from the last such open-seat campaign, which former President Donald Trump won in 2016. But Hutchinson said that he believes it is important that Republican primary voters hear from “multiple voices.”

Hutchinson also responded to a question about Trump, who has already announced his 2024 campaign and is facing myriad legal issues, including a possible indictment over allegations that during that 2016 campaign he paid a former pornographic movie actress to stay silent about their affair. Trump has denied the allegations.

The former president also is the subject of investigations into his efforts to get Georgia elections officials to change the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump still refuses to acknowledge that he lost to President Joe Biden; and over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

“I’m not a fan of the criminal charges that are being investigated in New York. I’m a federal prosecutor. I would not bring those charges. But there’s a lot of other things that are being looked at,” Hutchinson said.

“The key fact is that we’ve got a candidate for president ... that is really emphasizing these grievances, emphasizing the past and how he’s been victimized,” Hutchinson continued.

“And I think we ought to look to the future. I think we ought to look to problem-solve and the issues that face every family.”

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