CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Transcript Interview with Asa Hutchinson

Interview

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Joining us now, the Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson.

Governor Hutchinson, good to see you, as always.

You said new cases in Arkansas -- quote -- "continue to be too high." Hospitalizations are at record levels. Health experts say things are only going to get worse as people spend more indoors' time during the fall and winter.

Why do you think the numbers in Arkansas are going in the wrong direction, and how worried are you about what's coming?

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): Well, a large part of it is simply the nature the virus and that, if you don't take the right protections, it's going to spread.

[09:45:05]

Secondly, we are doing a record amount of testing, which is the good part of the story. But what you have to watch is the hospitalizations. It concerns me that you see those rise. We still have capacity.

But with the onset of flu season, you not only have to follow the guidelines in reference to COVID. Everybody needs to get their flu shot. So, we're continuing to do everything that we can. The main thing is, you take it seriously. And, right now, we do have capacity. But we're watching it very carefully and taking it seriously every, every day.

TAPPER: When you see your citizens participating in day-to-day life, are they -- are enough of them following the guidelines? Are enough of them distancing, wearing masks, abiding by the protocols that you have been pushing?

HUTCHINSON: Well, what you said is very important, and that they are going about their life activities, whether it is school, whether it is work, or whether it is some other activity.

We want that to continue. And one thing that we see, not just the United States, but across the globe, is that people cannot be shut up for seven months. They have got to live life.

But we have to do that with the social distancing, sure, absolutely. We have a football game, but we have a 70,000-capacity stadium with 14,000 people because we can do the social distancing.

TAPPER: OK.

HUTCHINSON: Are they doing it enough?

I will say that, after the White House challenge that we saw, and the cases that arose from that event with the president, people are taking it very seriously, even more so than ever, wearing the masks. It is getting better. And we want it to continue to.

TAPPER: So, Dr. Anthony Fauci called the Rose Garden event you just referred to two weeks ago which infected more than two dozen people, he called it a super-spreader.

Minnesota health officials say that at least nine people were infected at a Trump rally in September. The president, however, is hitting the campaign trail tomorrow, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, holding rallies.

If he wanted to hold a rally in Arkansas the way that he has been doing them, no social distancing, no masks required, would you want your family members to go?

HUTCHINSON: Well, they offer masks. They do screening whenever they come to the rallies.

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. 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.

We also can utilize this as an example, in other words, a teaching moment. And that's what I hope that we see in the next few weeks from both campaigns, an example that we can set for the winter, because that is the one tool that we have to keep the virus down.

TAPPER: Yes, the thing is, they offer masks at those rallies, but they don't require them. And most people don't wear them. And the president has obviously been setting an example of not wearing one.

But let's move on to a different topic, because 13 people have been charged in connection with a plot to kidnap one of your gubernatorial colleagues, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

This comes after President Trump repeatedly targeted Governor Whitmer, called on people to liberate Michigan. Governor Whitmer says she considers the president -- quote -- "complicit" in the plot.

You're the vice chair of the bipartisan -- or nonpartisan National Governors Association. Has the president's rhetoric against one of your fellow governors, has it gone too far?

HUTCHINSON: Well, first, Governor Cuomo and myself issued a statement just supporting Governor Whitmer, that, in terms of this attack, this plan, has no place in civilized society. And we, in the strongest terms, condemn that.

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.

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.

TAPPER: All right, Governor Asa Hutchinson of the great state of Arkansas, thank you so much.

Sorry about the game yesterday. Hope to see you soon.

HUTCHINSON: All right, thanks, Jake.

[09:50:00]

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