Hutchinson says ‘big lie’ supporters ‘not demonstrating leadership’

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said individuals who believe the “big lie” that the election was stolen from former President Trump are “not demonstrating leadership.”

Asked by co-anchor Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” if he is worried about individuals who embrace the “big lie” being put in positions of authority where they can potentially undermine legitimate election results, Hutchinson said, “What worries me is that they’re not demonstrating leadership.”

“Whenever you’re running for office, that’s whenever you start about the future, and you help educate the voters as to what happened on Jan. 6, and you make this about the future,” he added.

Tapper cited a tally from The Washington Post that said at least 163 Republicans who have embraced “big lie” claims are running for state-level positions in the U.S. 

Hutchinson, who has previously been critical of Trump and efforts to relitigate the 2020 presidential election, told Tapper that if the GOP wants to be a “party of strength” in the long term, it cannot “diminish and minimize the consequences of Jan. 6.

While a number of GOP lawmakers and officials released statement commemorating last week’s one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, only two Republicans — Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney — were on the House floor during a moment of silence.

“And this last week was a time of reflection on that, and over the coming years it’s gonna get worse not better,” the governor said on Sunday.

“We have to one, make sure we show that that was unacceptable. We have to define it in the right way, it was an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power. And thirdly, we have to make sure we are clear that President Trump did have some responsibility for that,” he added.

Hutchinson also called on his party to “move on” and look ahead to the future.

“I think that’s how a candidate runs for office,” he added.

The governor did, however, say he believes the GOP is going to “have a good 2022,” adding that he is excited about the upcoming elections.