Arkansas governor says ‘divisive’ Trump attacks on GOP officials are ‘unhelpful’

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said he was concerned about the divisions in the GOP and criticized former President Trump’s attacks on Republican leaders.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Hutchinson about Trump’s speech at the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) spring donor retreat, during which he reportedly tore into prominent GOP figures. The Washington Post reported that included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who he referred to as a “dumb son of a b****.” 

“Well, anything that is divisive is a concern and is not helpful for us fighting in the battles in Washington and at the state level,” Hutchinson said.  

“In some ways, it’s not a big deal, what he said, but, at the same time, whenever it draws attention, we don’t need that. We need unity. We need to be focused together. We have slim majorities — or slim numbers in Washington, and we have got battles to fight. So, we need to get beyond that,” he added.

The exchange comes as the Republican party is seeking to regain control of the House, Senate and White House in 2022 and trying to determine whether the party should stick with Trump or move in a different direction. 

Trump called out Hutchinson last week over his decision to veto a bill that would have prohibited physicians in Arkansas from providing gender-affirming treatments for transgender people under the age of 18. State lawmakers since then have overridden the veto.