Asa Hutchinson Drowned Out by Boos, Humiliated by Audience After Predicting Guilty Verdict for Trump
If you can’t read a room, you’re definitely not ready to lead the country.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is polling dead last among the remaining candidates in the Republican presidential primary, but what he lacks in poll numbers and fundraising he makes up for in chutzpah.
Hutchinson was booed for nearly a minute during a speech in Florida on Saturday when he predicted that former President Donald Trump would be found guilty of at least one of the charges he is facing.
The former governor’s comments came by way of an explanation as to why he is even bothering with Florida, the home state of the two leading candidates in the race — Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Hutchinson said that is a question even his own campaign team is asking.
Well, he said, since Florida’s primary comes later in the season, Republicans there will be “in a better position to decide on the candidates” and will have “more information and perhaps more clarity in all that is going on in the chaos of Trump world.”
That was already enough to draw a few jeers from the crowd.
“Next March … we will witness our justice system at work and on trial in federal and state courtrooms,” Hutchinson continued.
“As someone who’s been in the courtroom for over 25 years as a federal prosecutor and also in defending some of the most serious federal criminal cases, I can say that there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year,” he said, bringing down a chorus of boos.
Asa Hutchinson loudly booed at the Florida Freedom Summit for telling the crowd that “there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year.” pic.twitter.com/bdTZgJjLZc
— Veronica Stracqualursi (@VeronicaStrac) November 4, 2023
Hutchinson continued to talk over the shouts, saying, “That may or may not happen before you vote in March, and it might not make any difference to you, but it will make a difference for our chances to attract independent voters in November. It will make a difference for those down-ticket races for Congress and Senate, and it will weaken the GOP for decades to come.”
Just when it seemed like the booing was starting to die down, Hutchinson’s next comments whipped the audience back into a frenzy.
“As a party, we must support the rule of law. We cannot win as a country without integrity in the White House, and while some will ignore the destructive behavior of the former president, I assure you we ignore it at our own peril.”
Hutchinson wasn’t the only embattled Republican candidate to get an earful at Saturday’s event.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was also booed when he said Trump’s “pettiness is beneath the process of electing a president.”
Another Republican speech
Another round of boos for @ChrisChristie https://t.co/31knOzogh4 pic.twitter.com/MxAL3yrgm8
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) November 4, 2023
It’s obvious that candidates will say whatever it takes to win, but how is that working out for Hutchinson and Christie? They’re currently polling at 0.5 and 2.3 percent, respectively, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
Trump, meanwhile, is blowing his competition out of the water with nearly 60 percent support. Many polls have him ahead of President Joe Biden, despite his legal troubles.
Hutchinson’s failure to read a room full of Republicans on Saturday may have been the last gasp for his campaign. He may insist on staying in the race, but no one else seems interested.
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