Despite the myriad of venomous words he used to describe President Donald Trump while campaigning for now defunct presidential candidate Nikki Haley, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is throwing his support behind the Make America Great Again (MAGA) and now presumptive Republican party presidential nominee.
“I’m going to support the ticket. I’m going to support Donald Trump,” Mr. Sununu said during a March 7 interview with New Hampshire WMUR’s political director, Adam Sexton.
Mr. Sununu made the comments just a few hours ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Mr. Sununu, a long time critic of President Trump, made it very clear he was still not a big fan of his, saying—as he has in the past—that he still thinks he’s “probably too old for the job.”
He said also doesn’t take back any of the other negative comments he’s made about President Trump, but instead emphasized he was a better alternative than another term with current President Biden.
“Understand this is an alternative. I mean, the alternative is Biden and I think what folks are seeing is a lack of management, a lack of understanding what’s happening with immigration, and a lack of fiscal responsibility,” said Mr. Sununu, a four-term governor who is not seeking re-election in the Granite State.
Mr. Sununu is not alone in high profile politicians who have uttered anti-Trump sentiment only to throw their support behind the former president now in his presumed rematch against President Biden.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) called Mr. Trump “a dangerous con man when he ran him for the presidential party nomination in 2016, but this past January endorsed him over his state’s own governor Mr. DeSantis.
“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created. It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!” Mr. Rubio wrote in a post on X.
One week later, Mr. DeSantis announced he was suspending his campaign.
Like Mr. Sununu, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell who ascribed Mr. Trump to the New York Times as a “despicable person” and vowed his supporters “would face the wrath of the GOP establishment”, also, in what has been deemed a remarkable turnaround, just endorsed Mr. Trump.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement.
Mr. Sununu, who was the speculative vice president pick for Ms. Haley, made it clear that he does not support Mr. Trump in his claim he should have presidential immunity for any prosecution.
“No, that’s crazy. Just because you’re a politician does not put you above the law period,” said Mr. Sununu during the WMUR interview.
To some surprise, Mr. Sununu, who has taken a strong position against illegal immigration in the Granite State, also said he has no interest in assisting Trump with any deportation plans or policies he may implement should he win the presidency.
“Look I’m almost an ex-governor to be worried about that kind of insanity,” said Mr. Sununu who earlier emphasized in the WMUR interview that that his “focus is definitely going to be here in the state” of New Hampshire.
Mr. Sununu himself spent a brief time as a presidential candidate himself before withdrawing his bid.
He made a similar move after declaring in 2021 the possibility he would run for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Democrat and former New Hampshire governor, Maggie Hassan, since 2017.
It was only about two months later that he opted against the idea and instead ran for a fourth term.
Before endorsing Ms. Haley, Mr. Sununu also campaigned with GOP presidential candidates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
When he derided Republican contender Vivek Ramaswamy as a “poor choice” for president, the business entrepreneur barked back by saying any endorsement from the New Hampshire governor would be a “kiss of death” for a candidate.
Contrary to the prediction, Ms. Haley’s poll ratings in New Hampshire jumped up significantly after winning Mr. Sununu’s endorsement.
President Trump took notice and launched a verbal assault against Mr. Sununu, saying at several of his campaign rallies that the New Hampshire governor “couldn’t even be elected dog catcher.”
Prior to the former president’s barb, Mr. Sununu had referred to President Trump as a “loser,” and at a Republican roast in 2021 called him “[expletive] crazy” and said he belonged in a mental institution.
Mr. Sununu spurred sharp criticism from right wing conservatives for his harsh knocks against the former President.
Later, he suffered even more verbal assaults from pro-Trump GOPers when he stumped for progressive Republican Chris Doughty over ultra conservative, Trump-endorsed Geoff Diehl in the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign.
Mr. Diehl went on to win the Republican nomination, but lost to Democrat Maura Healey in the general election.
During his campaigning for Ms. Haley, Mr. Sununu also repeated the former U.N. ambassador’s charge that her former boss “caused chaos wherever he goes.”
In his most recent strikes against Mr. Trump, Mr. Sununu told CNN that President Trump has no energy and can barely read a teleprompter.
Mr. Sununu, in his final troth to Ms. Haley, which was in response to her announcement she was suspending her campaign, described her as “the first candidate into the arena to challenge Donald Trump.”
Adding to his comments, which he made on X, Mr. Sununu also commented that she “made sure it was the voters, not the media or party elites, that had the final say.”
