Outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump was empowering extremists after meeting with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Anchor Dana Bash asked, “I know as U.S. Attorney in Arkansas. You personally prosecuted white supremacist groups. What’s your reaction to seeing a former U.S. president associate with someone like that?”
Hutchinson said, “Well, I hope someday we won’t have to be responding to what former President Trump has said or done. In this instance, it’s important to respond, and as you mentioned, the last time I met with the white supremacist. It was in an armed standoff. I had a bulletproof vest on. We arrested them, prosecuted them, sent them to prison. And so, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea for a leader that’s setting an example for the country or the party to meet with an avowed racist or antisemite.”
He continued, “And so it’s very troubling, and it shouldn’t happen. And we need to avoid those kinds of empowering the extremes. And when you meet with people, you empower, and that’s what you have to avoid. You want to diminish their strength, not empower them. Stay away from it.”
Hutchinson added, “This was not an accidental meeting. It was a setup — dinner with Kanye, and so this happened. But you certainly have every occasion that the question of white supremacy or neo-Nazis or denying the Holocaust comes up — You’ve got to be absolutely clear in your communication that this is not acceptable dogma. It’s not acceptable conversation, it’s not acceptable history, and you have to disavow it — it is as simple as that.”
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