- The women of the host laid into GOP presidential hopeful Asa Hutchinson about a strict abortion law he signed as governor of Arkansas
- Whoopi Goldberg said she could not comprehend why, if she respects the opinion of pro-lifers, she should not be able to choose what happens to her body
- Hutchinson is currently polling at 1% in polls that show former President Donald Trump amassing 53% of GOP voter support
The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg questioned former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s decision to sign one of the nation’s strictest abortion bills into law, declaring that she cannot understand why ‘the state’ was involved.
The ladies of The View were hosting GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday’s episode of the daytime talk show and used some of the time to dig into the southern politician’s stance on one of the most divisive national political issues.
Co-host Sunny Hostin began the discussion by asking Hutchinson why he signed a total abortion ban ‘with no exceptions for rape and incest,’ that he publicly stated he was uncomfortable with.
Hutchinson explained that the bill had significant support from the legislature and that the only change he would have liked to see made to the bill were granting exceptions to cases of rape and incest.
He further explained that, if he were president, he would not mandate a national abortion ban because of the Supreme Court decision that explicitly allows individual states to determine their limits on abortion.
The presidential hopeful said that due to the divisive nature of the issue, there will likely always be a difference between abortion laws in, for instance, New York and Arkansas.
‘I’m doubtful that there will be a national standard,’ he said, before Hostin argued that ‘the will of the country’ is for a woman to have the right to choose, a statement that brought about a hearty cheer from the studio audience.
‘The debate in the future is going to be on what are the exceptions, and what are the reasonable restrictions that should be in place,’ said Hutchinson.
Goldberg then interjected to say that while she respects the ‘convictions’ of those who believe in different standards for abortion than she does, ‘in America,’ she feels that it should be her ‘right to decide what to decide what to do with my body.’
‘I don’t understand why I am not given the same respect that I give to you in terms of how you believe and how other people believe,’ Goldberg continued.
‘You’re looking at when does the state require a woman…’ Hutchinson said before being cut off by Goldberg, who exclaimed: ‘Why is the state involved is my question?’
The panel also questioned Hutchinson on his paltry poll numbers, and asked about his plan to beat back current Republican front runner and former President Donald Trump.
You officially launched your 2024 bid for president last month. You’ve said that your lane is the non-Trump lane, as opposed to the anti-Trump lane. I don’t know what that means, so I would love an explanation,’ said Hostin.
‘My other question is, how do you win over the 74 million people who voted for him? Because right now he’s beating every other candidate combined. He’s polling at 53%, and you are polling at 1%,’ she continued.
Hutchinson admitted that Trump’s numbers are ‘intimidating,’ but said what he is presenting is a ‘different approach to governance.’
‘It’s not anti-Trump. It’s certainly not anti-Trump policy … It’s trying to bring out the best of America and not appeal to our worst instincts. That’s the kind of leadership our country needs. That’s the kind of leadership that I want to offer,’ he said.
‘Everybody who jumps in, they’re saying one thing to the American people — that we would prefer someone else lead the Republican party and to lead our country than Donald Trump,’ he said, referencing recent candidate additions to the race, including Senator Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, and Governor Ron DeSantis.
‘That means there’s going to be, what, seven or eight candidates in there saying we need somebody other than Donald Trump. So I’m one of those these that believe there’s strength in multiple voices, and that we’re all in single digits. There’s a big gap there. I think overtime. This is early, that’s going to change,’ Hutchinson concluded.
