He and voters at large wouldn’t support a candidate in a presidential election “who is under indictment, that is potentially convicted at that time,” Hutchinson said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.

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“But we’re going to make that debate stage, and Donald Trump will not be the nominee of the party and I’m sure that’s how those who participate in it will view that,” he said.

The first Republican presidential primary debate is set for August 23 in Milwaukee. Under rules announced by the national committee on June 2, participation criteria include a “signed pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee”.

“The RNC is committed to putting on a fair, neutral, and transparent primary process and the qualifying criteria set forth will put our party and eventual nominee in the best position to take back the White House come November 2024,” Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement at the time.

Trump’s legal woes haven’t deterred die-hard supporters in the past.

About a third of Americans say the Justice Department should not have charged Trump, according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll. Most Republicans viewed the indictment as politically motivated in a CBS News/ YouGov poll.

Bloomberg

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