‘Bless His Heart’: CNN Analyst Mocks Hutchinson For ‘Adorable’ Plan to Run Against Trump on Policy and ‘Good Conservatism’

CNN anchor Pamela Brown spoke with political analysts S.E. Cupp and Errol Louis on Monday for reactions to former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) announcing his bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Brown played a clip from Hutchinson on ABC News’s This Week and asked for Cupp to react.

“This is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I’ve seen in my lifetime. And so my message of experience, of consistent conservatism, of hope for our future and solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates,” Hutchinson says in the clip from Sunday.

“He thinks that resonates. Do you think it indeed resonates with Republican voters?” Brown then asked.

“Well, as they say in the South. ‘Bless his heart.’ Yes. You know, I know it’s a Hutchinson. Hutchinson wants to talk about policy. He talked there about good conservatism, public service. I mean, those sound adorable in the landscape of today’s Republican primary voters,” Cupp replied, adding:

This speaks to me, but I am in the minority of Republican primary voters. That might be a better general election message, but he can’t get through a primary with these voters. And that message, a message of hope, problem-solving. That’s sort of the opposite of the destructive chaos that a lot of the Republican voters want right now. I am with him in lamenting the state of affairs, but I don’t think he’s going to be the one to drag the party back to, as Errol points out, the past.

“Well, what you’re describing is so interesting, because then take this edge also this side of Hutchison’s pitch, because unlike other presidential, other Republican contenders have come out really quickly to defend Donald Trump after the indictment came out, the information of the charges came out.

Hutchison, though not so much, he says, because he is now facing criminal charges, Donald Trump should drop out of the race, should bow out of the race. Let me play what else, why he says that,” Brown replied before playing another clip of Hutchinson.

“But I’ve always said that the people don’t have to step aside from public office if they are under investigation. But if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person,” Hutchinson said of Trump.

“And when I heard that, I was wondering what does taking this position does for Asa Hutchinson?” Brown asked.

“You know, it identifies him as, again, a voice from the past, you know, a different concept of public service than what we’ve seen in the last, you know, tumultuous decade. It also, I think, sort of identifies him as a pretty good general election running mate. You know, he’d be, he’d look pretty good on a DeSantis ticket or something like that,” Louis replied, adding:

And somebody who’s, you know, competent, grounded in values can speak to the conservative wing of the Republican Party and also acceptable to middle-of-the-road and independent voters. All of those things are great. The problem, of course, is it won’t get you through a Republican primary debate, much less a Republican primary.

“Not to mention, I think it’s worth pointing out that one of the reasons I believe Trump is running is because of these looming indictments, because it is a shield for him from some of this legal attention. So the idea that because of this indictment, he would take a step back, it’s just it’s not reality,” Cupp concluded.

Watch the full clip above on CNN.

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