While Ron DeSantis stands to be the most anticipated participant at Iowa’s Family Leadership Summit on Friday, Asa Hutchinson may have already produced the most viral exchanges. In what can only be described as an abject disaster, the 2024 hopeful sparred with Tucker Carlson, the on-stage interviewer at the forum.

The main point of contention came from a discussion on the transitioning of children under the guise of “gender-affirming care.” The history behind this is that Hutchinson vetoed a bill in 2021 that would have prevented the mutilation of children through surgical and chemical means, including things like hormone and puberty blockers. That set off a firestorm on the right, who saw it as a surrender to those in the transgender lobby. Hutchinson then ruffled feathers further by trying to claim that it was the “conservative” position to allow parents to “transition” their children.

“This is a government overreach. You are starting to let lawmakers interfere with healthcare and set a standard for legislation overriding healthcare,” Hutchinson said in a Monday news conference. “The state should not presume to jump into every ethical health decision.”

On the contrary, the state has always presumed to jump into the ethics of health decisions. There’s a reason governments regulate what procedures are allowed and which aren’t. There are also very strict stipulations on doing no harm to patients. “Gender-affirming care” is medical snake oil that feeds into mental illness and ultimately permanently scars children, most of whom would have statistically grown out of “transgenderism” anyway.

So with that as the setup, Carlson pressed Hutchinson on the matter. Things did not go smoothly.

#Tucker: "If you have a child…born a boy, 'I want to become a girl.' He hasn't gone through puberty…say 10…How is that treatment?"@AsaHutchinson: "Tucker, I hope that we’ll be able to talk some issues"#Tucker: "Well, this is one of the biggest issues in the country" pic.twitter.com/tBOjBHhE1l

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 14, 2023

In the clips, Hutchinson repeatedly tries to draw the line at surgical intervention, insisting that other methods of transition should be left up to the parents. Carlson pushes back on that by pointing out that things like hormones and puberty blockers cause damage to children that can’t be reversed. The implication in the exchange is that if one is against surgical castration, why would they support it chemically? Hutchinson just has no good answer, as the two go around in circles on the issue. At one point, the former Arkansas governor tries to change the subject, saying that he hopes “we’ll be able to talk some issues.” Carlson again counters by pointing out that transgenderism and how it affects children is one of the biggest issues in the country.

#Tucker: "You have repeatedly described delaying a child's natural progression as treatment. You believe, I suppose, that people can change their sex. Because if you don't believe that, you wouldn't call it treatment. Would you?"@AsaHutchinson: *long silence* pic.twitter.com/UECaNR1qcs

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 14, 2023

Carlson seemed to pin Hutchinson down on his description of childhood transitions as being “treatment.” A long pause ensued after the host questioned him on that, at which point he stated that he does not personally support transitioning genders but believes that we should have a discussion on the role of government in the matter.

With all due respect, I just don’t think that’s going to play very well on the broader right. For too long, “limited government” has been used as an excuse by some Republicans to wave the white flag in the culture, and the results have been horrific. Hutchinson’s heart may be in the right place, and he may truly believe this is an issue of overreach, but I believe, for most, his attempts at an explanation were a disaster.

That was Glenn Beck’s take, at least. Also note the clip prior that shows Carlson finally confirming he didn’t take the COVID shots, something that has been long speculated on.

Glenn Beck compares Asa Hutchinson's interview with Tucker to the Hindenburg disaster: "I don't think I have seen anything burst into flames and die that fast." pic.twitter.com/rzeAuUcrmV

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) July 14, 2023

Beck’s critique is harsh, but also it’s fair to say that a lot of people in the room agreed. The applause was certainly on Carlson’s side throughout the interview, and whatever one thinks of Hutchinson personally, he’s going to have a tough time selling what he’s saying. Time will tell.