Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has vowed to prosecute former President Donald Trump on the debate stage, regardless of whether or not Trump chooses to participate. Hutchinson, a vocal critic of Trump, stated in an interview that he plans to be "a prosecutor" and will focus on telling the truth about Trump's actions. He believes that the debate is an opportunity for Republicans to present an alternative to Trump and criticized his fellow candidates for their apparent defense of the former president. Hutchinson expressed confidence that he will qualify for the upcoming debate and emphasized the importance of candidates being "clear" about what happened on January 6th, 2021.

In addition to his prosecutorial stance, Hutchinson's campaign has experienced a surge of donations following Trump's indictments for alleged election interference. He announced that he has surpassed the required threshold of 40,000 unique donors and expects to participate in the debate. Hutchinson's campaign emphasized that their average donation is $29.35, and they attribute the increase in donations to the candidate's warnings about the future of the GOP under Trump's leadership. Hutchinson believes that Trump is not the right leader for the party and aims to define a new direction for Republicans.