New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he would support former President Donald Trump’s presidential bid this week, falling in line behind the presumptive Republican nominee after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who had earned his coveted endorsement ahead of his state’s primary, suspended her campaign this week.
“I’m going to support the ticket. I’m going to support Donald Trump,” Sununu told WMUR on Thursday. “But my focus is definitely going to be here in the state.”
The Republican governor, who is leaving office after his term ends this year, said he didn’t regret any of his criticism of Trump’s electability or age, but emphasized that he still preferred Trump to President Joe Biden.
“I mean, the alternative is Biden, and I think folks are seeing a lack of management, a lack of understanding of what’s happening with immigration, a lack of fiscal responsibility,” he said.
Sununu’s support for Trump follows months of campaigning and being a vocal advocate for Haley, who exited the Republican presidential race on Wednesday following Trump’s dominance on Super Tuesday. The New Hampshire governor endorsed her in December ahead of his state’s primary, and repeatedly touted the strength of Haley’s campaign before her departure.
He also pushed back on Trump’s legal arguments, calling the former president’s argument that he should be immune from prosecution “crazy.”
“Just because you’re a politician does not put you above the law, period,” he said.
Explaining how Trump should be held accountable, he said, “That’s why you have attorney generals and Congress. You have a process for that.”
Sununu, a frequent Trump critic who once called the former president “f****** crazy,” had made clear in recent months it was always his intention to support the Republican nominee.
Pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in January if he would support Trump even if he was a convicted felon, the New Hampshire governor answered, “I will support the Republican nominee, absolutely.”
“This shouldn’t shock anybody. There shouldn’t be a surprise that the Republican governor, and most of America, will end up going against Biden, because they need to see a change in this country,” he continued.
Sununu once considered a 2024 presidential bid of his own, but announced in June he wouldn’t seek the nomination, saying part of his decision was about the former president and the growing GOP field.
At the time, he reiterated that the Republican Party is “clearly moving on” from Trump, telling CNN’s Dana Bash that he did not believe the former president could win the general election.
“The math has shown Donald Trump has no chance of winning in November of ’24. He wouldn’t even win Georgia. If you’re a Republican that can’t win Georgia of November ‘24, you have no shot, and he’s proven that,” Sununu said last summer.
The governor also decided not to run for reelection this year, providing Democrats with an opportunity to pick up a key state. Sununu, a popular figure in the Granite State, is currently serving his fourth two-year term.