Donald Trump’s role in the 2021 uprising “disqualifies” him from being president, Arkansas Republican governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday.
“I don’t believe that Donald Trump should be the next president of the United States. I think he has a chance there. I think January 6 really disqualifies people for the term. So, we go beyond,” said Hutchinson on ABC” This Week. The governor “seriously considered” launching his own bid for the presidency.
However, when pressed by host Jonathan Karl, Hutchinson would not say he would oppose Trump if he were the Republican presidential nominee.
“I want to see what the alternative is. It’s not premature, Jonathan, to find out what might happen in 2024,” Hutchinson said. “But I want to see everything we can do to make sure there’s an alternative, and that Donald Trump is not the party’s nominee.”
Hutchinson, who plans to travel to the early state of Iowa, acknowledged that Trump remains the “front-runner” now among the candidates, given his continued popularity among many Republicans.
The House Committee on January 6 unanimously voted last month to refer four criminal charges against Trump in connection with the coup attempt to the Department of Justice: Obstruction of official proceedings, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make false statements, and inciting rebellion. against the United States.
Some critics and experts believe that Trump cannot legally campaign because there is a provision in the Constitution that prohibits any official from running again if the candidate participates in an insurgency or supports those who do.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, prohibits officials who have taken an oath to defend the government from seeking re-election if they have “engaged in rebellion or insurrection” against the government — or have “given aid or comfort to their enemies.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) survived a 14th Amendment reelection challenge in court last year. But the challenge was successful in September against New Mexico officials who participated in the January 6 insurrection.
Judges in the state ordered in response to a lawsuit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and others that Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was removed from office, declaring the attack on the US Capitol as “rebellion” and Griffin’s participation disqualified him from ever holding public office again in the 14th Amendment.
Griffin, the founder of the Cowboys for Trump group, later lost his appeal.
Rep. David Cicilline (DR.I.) and 40 other House Democrats introduced a bill last month that would bar Trump from running for president again because he “participated in rebellion.” The bill cites the 14th Amendment.
Check out Hutchinson’s full interview here: