Asa Hutchinson, Polling at Less than One Percent, Will Not Commit to Pardoning Trump

Republican presidential hopeful Asa Hutchinson is making it crystal clear that he will not commit to pardoning former President Donald Trump, attempting to differentiate himself from his competitors, some of whom have said they would pardon the former president if they were commander-in-chief.

“Despite the pledge of Haley and DeSantis to pardon Donald Trump, I will not make that commitment,” Hutchinson announced this week. “It is wrong to promise pardons to score political points and it undermines the principle of equal justice”:

Hutchinson’s remark follows Haley telling voters in Plymouth, New Hampshire, last week that she would pardon Trump if he was convicted, contending that the country must move on.

“A leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country,” Haley reportedly said during the event.

“What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country,” she continued.

“What’s in the best interest of our country is to pardon him so that we can move on as a country and no longer talk about him,” she added.

Similarly, when asked by reporters in Iowa if he would pardon Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had “already said that long ago.”

“I think we got to move on as a country and, you know, like Ford did to Nixon, because the divisions are just not in the country’s interest,” DeSantis explained.

Hutchinson’s remarks also come as he kicks off his “Return to Normal Tour” across Iowa and the Iowa caucus draws closer.

“Today, I am announcing my ‘RETURN TO NORMAL’ Tour through Iowa where I will visit more than a dozen cities next week,” Hutchinson announced ahead of the new year.

“I have been called ‘normal’ and America wants to return to controlled borders, job creation and a balanced budget. Iowa understands normal,” he added:

If his claims are true — that he is considered the “normal” candidate — poll after poll shows that is not what America actually wants. Trump has continued to dominate in poll after poll — both nationally and on the state level — throughout the months-long primary race. Not only that, but Hutchinson continues to find himself at the bottom of the barrel, receiving less than one percent support in many surveys.

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For example, Thursday’s RealClearPolling results showed Hutchinson with an average of 0.7 points in Iowa, 0.7 points in New Hampshire, and 0.8 points in South Carolina. Despite that, he has shown no signs of dropping out of the race, even hinting that he could remain in until March.

“By then, you’re going to have a dramatic change, in my judgment, in the politics of the presidential race,” Hutchinson said during a November interview with 40/29 News On the Record.

“You’re going to have some that are up now that will be down. Trump will be halfway through his trials. And so I expect dramatic changes,” he predicted.

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