Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire defended his support for former President Donald Trump despite his previous criticism.
Sununu appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on April 14 to explain his decision to throw support behind the presumptive Republican nominee despite blaming Trump for the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and campaigning for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Sununu told Stephanopoulos that while he still believes Trump’s “actions absolutely contributed to” Jan. 6, he feels it is important to prioritize the overall success of the party in the upcoming election.
“Because for me, it’s not about him as much as it is having a Republican administration — Republican secretaries, Republican rules, a sense where states’ rights come first, individual rights come first, parents’ rights come first,” he said. “It’s not about Trump with me.”
The New Hampshire Republican endorsed Trump at the end of March after his initial favorite – Haley – suspended her presidential campaign. The governor had vowed never to back the former president and called Trump a “loser” and “yesterday’s news.”
Sununu’s support for Trump seemed to surprise Stephanopoulos.
“And you believe that someone — you believe that a president who contributed to an insurrection should be president again?” the host asked.
“As does 51 percent of America, George. I mean, really,” Sununu responded. “I understand you’re part of the media. I understand you’re in this New York City bubble or whatever it is, but you’ve got to look around [at] what’s happening across this country. They’re not — it’s not about just supporting Trump. It’s getting rid of what we have today.”
Sununu also suggested that even if Trump is convicted in any of his current trials, the former president should not suspend his campaign because of his support among American voters.
"At the end of the day, they [people] want that culture change within the Republican Party,” he said. “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.”
The governor added that voters are “angry” and “upset” that “liberal elites in Washington want to stand on the shoulders of hardworking American families that built this country, defended this country and tell them how to live their lives.”
"They're not crazy. They're not MAGA conservatives. They're not extremists. They want culture change," he said.
