The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is facing blowback over its reaction to former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson suspending his 2024 presidential campaign after a poor showing in the Republican Iowa caucuses.
“This news comes as a shock to those of us who could’ve sworn he had already dropped out,” DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake posted a screenshot of the one-line zinger on social media, which drew a wave of condemnation from an array of journalists and pundits, including those from the “Never Trump” crowd.
The DNC's (rather gratuitous?) statement on Asa Hutchinson pic.twitter.com/zQjIMePrn9
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) January 16, 2024
“The DNC’s (rather gratuitous?) statement on Asa Hutchinson,” Blake said in his post. “Not a good look,” commented Victor Shi, a Gen Z advocate of President Joe Biden with a large following on X.
“I assume you guys want the support in November of that slice of Republicans who admire Asa for being a decent and principled person, and for not bending the knee to [former President Donald] Trump? Or is Biden so far ahead that you don’t need every potential crossover vote?” asked “Never Trump” leader and The Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol.
“This is so wrong-headed strategically and in terms of basic decency,” said Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who assisted Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation into Trump. Journalist John Hardwood said, “juvenile, idiotic, counter-productive statement,” adding, “the kind of thing you’d expect from Trump’s team, not Biden’s.”
“Stupid. The DNC should have praised Asa for his forthright condemnation of Trump and the insurrection, and noted that his integrity meant he had no chance of winning over Republican primary voters,” political scholar Norman Ornstein said.
“These are just stupid and dumb,” said former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). Hey [DNC], this is a shitty thing to say. [Hutchinson] should be thanked by you all for running AGAINST Trump. I mean…you do want all of us NeverTrumpers to vote for Biden, don’t you? Come on DNC, be better than this,” added former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL).
“These people are losing to Trump, [Florida Governor Ron] DeSantis, and [former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador Nikki] Haley in every swing state and dedicated energy to this,” said CNN contributor Scott Jennings.
More comments, from users of X accounts both large and small, piled on as Blake’s post garnered nearly 500,000 views in three hours.
Earlier in the day, Hutchinson had followed tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in dropping out of the GOP presidential nomination contest after failing to break into the top three in Iowa’s caucuses while struggling to reach and break past 1% support in most national polls.
“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.”