WASHINGTON — The White House took the unusual step Wednesday of apologizing to former Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson over a snarky news release that President Joe Biden’s party sent out after he withdrew from the race.
Jeff Zients, the White House chief of staff, called Hutchinson in the morning to offer an apology over the Democratic National Committee’s one-sentence statement following the former Arkansas governor’s announcement Tuesday that he was ending his 2024 campaign after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses the previous night.
“This news comes as a shock to those of us who could’ve sworn he had already dropped out,” the DNC said in a statement released by national press secretary Sarafina Chitika.
Chitika did not respond to a request for comment about the release.
A Biden adviser said in an interview that no one at the DNC would lose their job over the statement, chalking up the episode to a mistake made in a fast-moving, highly charged campaign season.
Hutchinson won 0.2 percent of the vote in Iowa, finishing in sixth place. He had waged an atypical campaign in the Donald Trump era, openly criticizing the ex-president even as other GOP presidential hopefuls faring better in the polls tip-toed around the legal troubles and controversies surrounding the party’s front-runner in the polls.
Hutchinson, 73, ran as a more traditional Republican, hewing to a certain civility on the campaign trail that Trump and his MAGA movement have long eschewed.
For that reason, the DNC statement appeared gratuitous and a bit off-brand given Biden’s promise to unify and heal a divided nation. A throwback of sorts, Hutchinson epitomized the sort of establishment Republican that Biden grew to respect during his 36 years in the Senate.
The Democratic Party’s political arm, the DNC, ultimately answers to Biden. After his victory in the 2020 election, Biden tapped Jaime Harrison to chair the DNC.
The DNC statement about Hutchinson “does not reflect [Biden’s] views,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing Wednesday.
“President Biden has deep respect for Gov. Hutchinson and admires the race that he ran,” she added. “The president knows him to be a man of principle who cares about our country and has a strong record of public service.”
In an interview, Hutchinson told NBC News that he appreciated the call from Zients. But he questioned the culture and training at the DNC if staff members thought a statement mocking the failure of someone trying to lead the GOP in a different direction was somehow appropriate.
“I don’t know who it was” who wrote the statement, Hutchinson said. “Everyone refers to the person as a young staffer. That means we are training our future leaders to practice demeaning comments — ridicule — and to really focus on things that are not important.”
“So here’s the point,” he added. “Let’s mentor that young staffer. Who is training them to do this? That’s [happening on] both sides of the aisle. That’s not what America expects. It hurts politics. And I hope there will be a lot of re-training based on this.”
It isn’t the first time the DNC has scorned a defeated GOP presidential candidate. Last month, Chitika released a statement after another longshot Republican candidate ended his campaign.
“Today, millions of Americans are reacting to Doug Burgum’s drop out with a resounding, ‘Who is that?’” the statement said of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The call from Zients was cordial, Hutchinson said — but not enough for him to support Biden’s re-election bid.
Asked what he would do if Trump wins the nomination, Hutchinson suggested he’s waiting to hear the outcome of the former president’s four criminal cases.
“I’m not going to support anyone who is a convicted felon,” he said. “I expect to support the Republican nominee — and I’m counting on that being someone different from Donald Trump.”
