Asa Hutchinson endorses Nikki Haley, calls Trump divisive ahead of N.H. primary

WASHINGTON (TND) — Former Arkansas Governor and former Republican candidate for president Asa Hutchinson endorsed Nikki Haley on Saturday, as many of their former rivals coalesced support around former President Donald Trump.

"Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been asleep over the last 8 years," the former U.S. attorney and Congressman posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Trump intentionally tries to divide America and will continue to do so. Go @NikkiHaley in New Hampshire."

His endorsement is still one of few for Haley, now the last major candidate running against Trump in the Republican primary, especially among their former rivals in the Republican primary. As other candidates that made it to the primary debate stage at least one point during the race (the eight or so counted as "major candidates" by mainstream publications and political observers) drop out, many have endorsed the former president. While this may not have been surprising from candidates that ran ideologically close to the 45th president like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott's, R-S.C., endorsement was seen as a blow to Haley, considering she appointed him to the senate in the first place.

"We need a president who will close our Southern border today," Scott said during a speech endorsing Trump in New Hampshire. "We need Donald Trump."

"A highly respected gentleman and he's a wonderful friend," Trump said while accepting the senator's endorsement. "And remember, he's, you know, I'm running against somebody from his state, so it's not easy to do."

Haley previously garnered the endorsement of former Texas Congressman and former CIA clandestine officer Will Hurd, who ran a long-shot campaign along the lines of Haley's, offering stern criticism of both President Joe Biden and Trump.

Ambassador Haley has shown a willingness to articulate a different vision for the country than Donald Trump and has an unmatched grasp on the complexities of our foreign policy," he wrote in his endorsement.

Hutchinson, who made his mark in national politics -- Republican or otherwise -- as one of the House managers in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, told The National Desk's Scott Thuman in September 2023 that he felt spurred to run after watching the events of Jan. 6, 2021 and hearing Trump say the next day he would not attend Biden's inauguration.

In December 2022, a full five months before he would announce his run for the White House, Hutchinson told the Associated Press that Trump running to retake the Oval Office was the "worst scenario" for the GOP -- and a Trump-Biden rematch bad for party and the country. His comments in that interview came just days after Trump called for the "termination" of parts of the constitution in order to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

It hurts our country,” Hutchinson said of Trump's statement. “I mean, any leader, former president that says suspend the Constitution is tearing at the fabric of our democracy.

Trump has since gone on to say that he would be a "dictator" on day one -- only on day one -- of his return to the presidency and has used language to describe his political opponents ("vermin") and immigrants ("poisoning the blood of our country") that his critics say evokes the rhetoric used by 20th century fascists like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. A Trump campaign spokesperson defended the "vermin" language in a statement to Axios, calling the critics "snowflakes" whose "entire existence will be crushed" if the former president gets his job back.

While recent polls show Trump leading Haley by anywhere from 11 to 27 points in New Hampshire, she faces a seemingly ever-increasing Sisyphean race against the former president as more Republicans come out against what they see as her moderate and corporate brand of conservatism. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who came to office on the Tea Party surge of 2010, announced Monday he was creating a website and hashtag to oppose Haley called "Never Nikki."

With voting about to begin in New Hampshire, almost every top Republican has lined up behind Trump, and polls in New Hampshire suggest he leads Haley in a state uniquely suited to her strengths.

“America does not do coronations,” Haley said at a VFW hall in Franklin, joined by her daughter and son-in-law. “Let’s show all of the media class and the political class that we’ve got a different plan in mind, and let’s show the country what we can do."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report

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