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A former US governor has thrown down the gauntlet to Donald Trump by announcing he is running against him in the race for president.

Asa Hutchinson said people want leaders that “appeal to the best of America” and not “our worst instincts”.

The former Arkansas governor is offering himself as an alternative for Republicans ready to turn the party away from Mr Trump.

Mr Trump faces a mugshot, fingerprinting and a court appearance after being indicted by a grand jury in New York over an alleged hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

The former president said on Sunday that he would speak from Florida on Tuesday following his appearance in New York.

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Donald Trump indictment explained

Mr Hutchinson used an interview which also aired on Sunday to announce his bid to rival Mr Trump in the race to be the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential election.

He told ABC’s This Week: “I’m running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future.”

The 72-year-old, who left office in January after eight years as governor, said he would make a formal announcement in April in Arkansas.

He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the “worst scenario” for Republicans and saying it would likely benefit President Joe Biden’s chances in 2024.

Biden has offered strong hints he will run again in 2024 as the incumbent for the Democrats, despite concerns about his age.

Mr Hutchinson’s home state is still reeling from recent devastating tornadoes, with the death toll continuing to rise across US states hit by the extreme weather.

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In addition to Mr Trump, Mr Hutchinson joins a Republican field of confirmed candidates that so far also includes former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Controversial Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is also expected to jump into the race in the summer, while US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are among those considering bids.

As governor in Arkansas, Mr Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state’s budget surpluses grew.

He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade last year.

Mr Hutchinson has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Although he has supported Mr Trump’s policies, Mr Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president’s rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election.

He said Mr Trump’s call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

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Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has sparked ugly debate – so why is it so controversial?

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Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' has sparked ugly debate - so why is it so controversial?

It is certainly big – 940 pages long – but on the question of beauty, Congress is divided.

Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has sparked ugly debate – both for its ambitious scope and for the political manoeuvring that’s gone on around it.

Elon Musk branded it “political suicide” for Republicans and threatened to fund challenges against those who back it in next year’s midterm elections.

But the president hit back, suggesting he would consider cutting Musk’s lucrative government contracts or even deporting him back to South Africa.

The “big, beautiful bill”, or HR 1 to give the proposed legislation its proper title, is Mr Trump’s signature spending and tax policy.

It extends tax cuts he secured in 2017 and bankrolls his second-term agenda in the White House.

File pic: Reuters
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File pic: Reuters

Here is a summary of the key points:

Permanent tax cuts: Extending relief from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Small business support: Doubling the small business expensing limit to $2.5m (£1.8m) to help businesses expand and hire staff

Child tax credit: Expanding the child tax credit and making it permanent, benefiting 40 million families

Making housing affordable: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit to kickstart construction of affordable homes

Defence and border security: Allocating $170bn (£123bn) for border security alone, including $46bn (£33bn) for completing the border wall

Made-in-America incentives: Providing tax breaks and incentives for domestic manufacturing to promote US industry

Healthcare and social welfare: Implementing restrictions on Medicaid, which provides healthcare for millions of Americans, and reducing funding for certain healthcare and nutrition programmes.

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Clash over ‘monster’ debt bill

Musk, Mr Trump’s former ally and the man who established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, the biggest increase in history.”

“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” was President Trump’s response.

The national debt currently stands at $37trn (£27trn) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill could add $2.4trn (£1.7trn) to that over the next decade.

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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk

Bill splits Republican ranks

Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill and, following criticism from the president, announced he would not seek re-election in North Carolina.

He said he couldn’t support it due to his concerns about the impact cuts to Medicaid would have on people in his state.

Democrats in the Senate forced a full reading of all 940 pages and then a vote-a-rama, a series of marathon voting sessions.

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In the House of Representatives, it passed by a single vote, 215-214. In the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, had to cast the deciding vote to break a tie (50-50).

Legislatively, the progress of the bill has been a case study in the complexities of American law-making.

Strategically, it represents a mammoth effort to consolidate the president’s policy agenda and secure his legacy.

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment – but there are still many unanswered questions

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment - but there are still many unanswered questions

In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.

For the people of Gaza, for the Israeli hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.

The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?

At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached.

“Israel is opposed to this. At this point, only President Trump can break this deadlock.”

The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”

Israel-Gaza – live updates

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Will Trump achieve a Gaza ceasefire?

The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.

We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.

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Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return?

We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.

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Dozens killed at beachfront cafe in Gaza

We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.

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If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.

It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.

Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war, safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.

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What is ‘Alligator Alcatraz’?

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What is 'Alligator Alcatraz'?

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Mark Stone and David Blevins unpick the latest development in Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan – a detention centre in the Florida Everglades nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”.

They also discuss the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which has narrowly passed in the Senate. The legislation likely to define Trump’s second term is now one step closer to becoming law.

And there’s breaking news to digest on US weapons to Ukraine, as well as a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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