A Republican governor went on CNN Sunday to throw shade at former President Donald Trump regarding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building a year ago.
In an interview with “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, a former U.S. congressman, implored his party to allegedly stop diminishing the events of that day and admit Trump has “responsibility” for what happened.
“According to a Washington Post survey, 63% of Republicans who embraced the big lie about the election are running for statewide positions throughout the United States,” Tapper said, a reference to claims by Trump that the 2020 election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him.
“Are you worried at all about individuals who embrace the big lie and support the notion of elections? Are you worried about them elected into positions where they could potentially warp and undermine legitimate election results?” Tapper asked.
“Well, 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 January 6, and you make this about the future,” Hutchison, who is in his last year of his final term, said.
“We’re going to win. I feel comfortable with the GOP in the short term. We’re going to have a good 2022,” he added.
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“I’m excited about the elections, but at the same time, if we want to be a party of strength over the long term, then we’ve got to not diminish and minimize the consequences of January 6, and this last week was a time of reflection on that, and over the coming years, it’s going to get worse, not better, and so we have to, one, make sure we show that that was unacceptable, we have to define it in the right way,” Hutchison continued.
“It was an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” he went on to claim.
“Thirdly, we have to make sure we are clear that President Trump did have some responsibility for that. Beyond that, let’s move on. Let’s talk about our future, and I think that’s how a candidate runs for office,” he added.
Hutchison has endorsed Sarah Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee, and a former Trump press secretary, to replace him.
During his “Stop the Steal” speech on Jan. 6, 2020, Trump urged the crowd to march “peacefully” to the U.S. Capitol to make their voices heard.