White House apologized to Hutchinson over DNC quip on failed campaign

A quip from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) mocking former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson's unsuccessful presidential campaign prompted White House chief of staff Jeff Zients to call the Republican to apologize on Wednesday.

Hutchinson dropped out of the Republican primary after a poor showing in the Iowa Caucus earlier this week. The DNC subsequently issued a dismissive statement, saying "[t]his news comes as a shock to those of us who could’ve sworn he had already dropped out." The Arkansas Republican rarely earned more than 1% support in most polls and earned 0.2% of the vote in Iowa.

The quip prompted Zients to call Hutchinson and apologize, The Hill reported. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday addressed the matter, saying "President Biden has deep respect for Gov. Hutchinson and admires the race he ran."

The former governor managed to qualify for the first Republican presidential primary debate, but did not appear on stage in subsequent events after failing to qualify.

Hutchinson's withdrawal from the primary contest followed that of tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy, who also failed to place in the top three in Iowa this week. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out prior to the Caucus.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.