CLEVELAND — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson boosted Donald Trump as exactly the kind of “transparent, straight-talking leader” that America needs during his speech at the GOP convention.
On Monday, Hutchinson told the Florida Republican delegation that he supported Trump not because the GOP nominee was his first choice or his second choice, but because “Trump won fair and square” and the governor wasn’t going to turn his back on his team.
By Tuesday, Hutchinson offered a full-throated defense of Trump in contrast to presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“When it comes to being commander in chief, we don’t want a president who in the words of the FBI is “extremely careless” in the handling of classified material,” Hutchinson said. “Donald Trump represents a different kind of leadership. He is exactly the kind of transparent, straight-talking leader America needs right now. A Hillary Clinton presidency will endanger our national security.”
Hutchinson formerly supported Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 primary. After his candidates lost, he boarded the Trump train. But his different messages in Cleveland may represent the broader challenges that elected Republicans will face when choosing to promote Trump in the run-up to November.
