Arkansas GOP governor on Trump rallies: There shouldn’t be mass gatherings without social distancing

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Sunday that large public events, including campaign rallies for President Trump, should not take place without social distancing efforts.

Hutchinson, asked on CNN’s “State of the Union,” if he would feel comfortable with his family attending such a rally, noted that such rallies offer masks and screening for attendees.

“Certainly, we want to have an engagement in the presidential campaign this year. It is the topic, as it should be. But, yes, there should not be any mass gathering without social distancing. The social distancing is so important, or wear a mask,” Hutchinson said. “If you’re going to sit next to somebody, wear a mask. And it’s important that we have seen, by illustration, the challenge of the virus in a spreader event when you don’t socially distance.”

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on President Trump resuming campaign rallies: “Certainly, we want to have an engagement in the presidential campaign this year… But yes, there should not be any mass gathering without social distancing” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/0c7WhiyzIg

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) October 11, 2020

Hutchinson during the interview also addressed the alleged kidnapping plot targeting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), as well as Whitmer saying extremists were emboldened by Trump’s attacks on her.

Hutchinson condemned the alleged plot but also blasted Whitmer for connecting it to Trump, who tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” during the state’s lockdown.

“There should not be any connection with the president. Governor Whitmer should not be making politics out of this. It is a law enforcement issue. It — in the ’80s, I prosecuted, as a U.S. attorney, a white supremacist group, the radical right,” Hutchinson said. “Whether it’s anarchists or whether it’s the radical right, you stand against it. You enforce the law. You don’t make politics out of it.”