I ran for president as a Republican in 2024. I won't vote for Trump (or Biden).

With Donald Trump’s domination of the GOP primaries and the elimination of all primary opponents, including myself, the party leadership and Republican elected officials are clicking their heels in obedience to the victor and presumptive nominee. I have not endorsed Donald Trump for president, and I will not do so.

This is a costly and difficult position to take because I was instrumental in building the GOP in Arkansas, having served as state party chair during the Clinton years, and I have been elected to Congress and as governor on the Republican ticket.

I became a Republican as a young lawyer because of the conservative policies advocated by Ronald Reagan, who then appointed me as the youngest U.S. attorney in the nation at age 31. So, I have a long history of believing that principle matters, character counts and civility should be valued.

Let the election begin: Biden must win back 2020 voters. Trump only cares about MAGA.

Trump embraces Putin instead of Ukraine freedom fighters

Regretfully, Donald Trump has redefined the GOP in his image and has put personal ego above the common good. He has made the GOP the party that likes Russian President Vladimir Putin over the freedom fighters in Ukraine. He has transfigured conservatism into isolationism by abandoning NATO and U.S. leadership among the nations of the world. He has brought back the ancient idea of economic protectionism with his “ring around America” plan to impose tariffs on friend and foe alike. And by doing so, he says America cannot win and compete in the global marketplace.

These ideas are not Republican principles but anathema to the success story conservative leaders have built over the last 50 years.

I get asked a lot if I believe Trump is a threat to our democracy. I am not good at predicting the future, but we can learn from history and we should take heed when politicians tell us what they are going to do.

I voted for Trump – twice. Liz Cheney's book and DOJ's Jan. 6 indictment changed my mind.

Trump disqualified himself on Jan. 6, 2021

In terms of history, we all witnessed the violent attack on our national Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by those wishing to overturn the last election. This was not an act of patriots as Trump likes to say, but it was a real threat to democracy.

When I saw the attack on law enforcement, the rule of law and Congress itself, I said he should never again lead our country or our party. Remarkably, many Republican leaders made the same point publicly but later made peace with the disgraced former president. To this day, he continues to undermine our democracy by defending the actions of that dark day.

And when it comes to the future, Trump does not care about the checks and balances in our system of government. He advocates for an all-powerful executive branch that can ignore Congress and the courts. I was governor of Arkansas for eight years, and I fully support a strong chief executive. But I also understand the healthy friction needed with the legislature and the courts to properly restrain government.

Another important point to make is that I also will not vote for President Joe Biden. Biden’s weak border policies, his poor economic record and his slow growth energy policy do not justify reelection.

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Where do we go from here? Let me emphasize that I still believe in the principles of the Republican Party – that we can make life better for all Americans, that we must still assert global leadership to promote peace and commerce, and that character matters as we strive to show the next generation the importance of public service.

So, I am a Republican who won’t be supporting our presumptive nominee. I hope there will be those in the trenches who will push back against this takeover of the Republican Party and who will join the fight to reclaim the future.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump for president in 2024? He doesn't deserve Republicans' vote