New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) humiliated himself on Sunday when pressed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos over his support for Donald Trump despite his past criticisms of the former president.
Sununu, who endorsed Nikki Haley in the GOP primary is now squarely back in the Trump camp, telling Stephanopoulos on Sunday that it is not solely about Trump when he was questioned repeatedly about supporting the man he blamed for the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and has said should drop out of the race if he’s convicted.
“Previously, you’ve said these charges are serious and Trump should drop out of the race if he’s convicted. Do you still believe that?” Stephanopoulos asked, according to a clip shared by Mediaite.
Sununu dodged the question, saying Trump’s legal issues were the very “chaos” that he had warned about during the GOP primary when he endorsed Haley.
“I’d rather have Republicans on the campaign trail talking about real issues than, you know, having to talk about this stuff. It’s a complete distraction,” he said.
Pressed further, Sununu said he no longer thinks Trump should suspend his campaign if he is convicted.
“Drop out after being the nominee? Of course not,” Sununu said. “You know that. That’s that’s not to be expected at all.”
“At the end of the day, people want that culture change within the Republican Party. And if we have to have Trump as the standard-bearer— and the voters decided that’s what they wanted, not what I wanted. If he’s going to be the standard-bearer of that, we’ll take it if we have to. That’s how badly America wants a culture change,” he added.
Sununu said he still stands by his comments blaming Trump for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack but added that his support of the former president– as he continues to push baseless election fraud theories that led to the Capitol attack– is about supporting the broader ‘culture change’ that is needed in Washington DC.
“People are upset by Jan. 6,” he said. “They’re upset by the election denial. They have every right to be, but at the end of the day, they need a culture change to get America back on track.”
“Please explain, given the fact that you believe he contributed to an insurrection, how you can say we should have him back in the Oval Office?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“For me, it’s not solely about him. It’s about maintaining a Republican administration, Republican secretaries and Republican rules that prioritize states’ rights, individual rights and parents’ rights,” Sununu said. “We’re going to have a pro-business economy. We’re not going to have a cancel culture that has really infiltrated all across America. It’s not about Trump with me.”
“So just to sum up, you support him for president even if he’s convicted for classified documents. You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection. You support him for president even though you believe he’s lying about the last election. You support him for president even if he’s convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say the answer to that is yes, correct.” Stephanoupoulos said.
“Yeah, me and 51 percent of America,” Sununu responded, lying about Trump’s poll numbers.
