Gov. John Bel Edwards is a Democrat who likes to trumpet his willingness to work with Republicans.
It is smart in a state the place Republicans maintain all the degrees of energy besides the governor’s workplace.
So, Edwards appeared at residence on Thursday when he appeared with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, residence of Walmart. One of many household’s heirs interviewed each of them in entrance of an appreciative crowd.
Hutchinson seems to be positioning himself for a presidential run in 2024 as a non-Trumper.
“What you see as a governor, and likewise in our nation, is that almost all points don’t boil all the way down to a partisan divide,” Hutchinson mentioned, in accordance with the Northwest Arkansas Enterprise Journal. “I (promote) pc science. Pc science and training should not partisan divisions. We must be working collectively on that.”
Hutchinson added, “I’m a two-party man. I’m a partisan. I marketing campaign for my aspect of the fence, you (Edwards) marketing campaign in your aspect of the fence. When it’s over, we work collectively.
“However I’m not a tribalist. Cornell West made the purpose that we’re all a part of a tribe. However if you happen to by no means disagree along with your tribe, you change into a tribalist. And if you’re a tribalist, then quickly you might be an ideologue. And if you’re an ideologue, you’ll quickly be a demagogue.”
Edwards agreed with Hutchinson’s method.
“After the campaigning and election are over, we have to work with and pull for whoever is within the majority (occasion),” he mentioned, in accordance with the Northwest Arkansas Enterprise Journal. “Whoever is within the administration, that can decide if we, collectively, are profitable. If the very first thing you do is attempt to set the stage for a profitable election in your occasion down the road in two years or 4 years, we aren’t getting issues performed. We aren’t fixing the issues of our individuals or positioning our nation strategically.”
Edwards acknowledged that then-President Donald Trump examined his considering when he ran for re-election in 2019.
“He got here all the way down to Louisiana 3 times to marketing campaign in opposition to me,” Edwards recalled. “Mentioned some fairly nasty issues. I don’t essentially just like the labels, however I’m often called probably the most conservative Democratic governor within the nation. However to listen to (Trump), I’m a Communist, gun-taking, third-trimester abortionist.”
The day after the election, Edwards mentioned Trump known as to supply congratulations.
“Mr. President, thanks for the decision,” Edwards responded. “I mentioned through the marketing campaign I used to be going to win, and after I did, it might be time to manipulate. And right now’s time to manipulate.”
This considering paid off after three hurricanes slammed into Louisiana in 2020. Edwards discovered himself talking with Trump each couple of weeks to request federal help for the state.
“I might have given into that human temptation to provide it again to him when he known as me (to supply congratulations),” Edwards mentioned. “That will have been the worst factor for my state.
“Not that I wasn’t considering it,” Edwards mentioned, in a line that drew the loudest snigger of the occasion, in accordance with the journal. “However as an grownup and as a public servant, it’s important to have a filter between your mind and your mouth. And I used to be profitable on that day not less than.”