Asa Hutchinson Admits He ‘Underestimated’ Loyalty of Trump Supporters: ‘Followed Him to the Ends of the Earth’

2024 presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R, doesn't believe he underestimated former President Donald Trump in his bid for a return to the White House, but he does say that he underestimated the influence the former president has over his voter base.

Hutchinson has struggled in the 2024 GOP primary, typically polling around 1% in polls while Trump carries a wide lead over all of his competitors.

Appearing on CNN, Laura Coates pressed Hutchinson on the struggles of his campaign and whether he "underestimated" the "political strength" of Trump.

Hutchinson noted there's a "loyal bond" between Trump and Republican supporters, one he argued is to their "detriment."

"I don’t think I underestimated him, but the hold that he has and the loyalty of the base and how they’ve accepted everything that he’s said," the former Arkansas governor said. "They have followed him to the ends of the Earth, and it’s to their detriment, whenever you look at the fact that he has misled them, but there’s still that loyal bond there, and I don’t know what’s going to break it."

In a Monday interview on CNN, Hutchinson had struck a more positive tone, arguing Trump has a "loosening grip" on the Republican Party.

Hutchinson was booed by a GOP audience last month at the Turning Point USA Conference in Florida where part of the crowd broke out into a "Trump" chant while Hutchinson spoke.