Former US governor announces 2024 White House bid

Asa Hutchinson becomes the latest to join the Republican primary

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson speaks at the Vision 2024 National Conservative Forum at the Charleston Area Convention Centre in South Carolina. AFP

Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announced his 2024 US presidential candidacy on Sunday with a proclamation that set him apart from other current or potential Republican candidates: former president Donald Trump should step aside from the race.

“I have made a decision, and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United States,” Hutchinson told ABC’s This Week in an interview aired Sunday.

Mr Hutchinson, who was governor of the southern state from 2015 until early this year after earlier serving in the US House of Representatives, said he would make his formal announcement in Arkansas later this month, but has decided to run.

"I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,” he said.

The Arkansas native urged Donald Trump, who launched his candidacy in November, to drop out of the race after the former president's indictment on Thursday in New York following an investigation into hush money payments to an adult film actress.

“I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that's too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence,” Mr Hutchinson said.

According to the office of Mr Trump, the former president is expected to speak in Florida on Tuesday evening after his court appearance in New York City stemming from his historic indictment last week.

Democratic President Joe Biden is expected to seek re-election next year.

Mr Hutchinson has criticised Mr Trump in the past.

He made clear on Sunday he would not shrink, as a candidate, from confronting Mr Trump, who remains popular among many Republicans despite becoming the first former president to be indicted.

“I think it's a sad day for America that we have a former president that's indicted,” Mr Hutchinson said.

Asked whether Mr Trump should step aside, Mr Hutchinson said, “Well, he should, but at the same time, we know he's not.”

Although he has supported Mr Trump’s policies, Mr Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president’s rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election.

He said Mr Trump’s call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Mr Hutchinson, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s, when the state was predominantly Democratic.

A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton.

Mr Hutchinson served as President George W Bush’s head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.

In addition to Mr Trump, Mr Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are among those considering bids.

With reporting from Reuters, AP