'We're going off that cliff': Ex-GOP presidential hopeful despairs that party is doomed

After finishing with just 0.2 percent of the vote in the Iowa Caucuses, former Republican Gov. of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson's bid to become president came to a crashing end this week.

And, after dropping out, he had a dire warning for what he sees in store for his party — and his nation.

“We’re headed toward a cliff, and we’re going to go off that cliff because Donald Trump cannot attract independent voters,” Hutchinson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s very clear he’s not going to expand the base with the rhetoric that he has.”

He went on to say that the GOP is in a "battle for its soul" — a battle that Trump is winning. “But telling what is needed is not always a guarantee you’re going to win votes," he said.

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Hutchinson said evangelicals who support Trump basically "made a bargain" that said "the results are more important than how you get there."

“I just go in a different direction. I think character counts," he said.

Hutchinson says he hopes the GOP can be a "principles-based party" once again — but it's nowhere near that now.

“That’s partly because people are weary of the drama of Donald Trump’s style and the chaos he creates,” he said. “And because no one can create chaos like he does.”

Read more at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.