SUNUNU ON TRUMP: “He’s not really bringing that fire”
New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu took some time to throw shade at Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in an appearance on CNN‘s State of the Union on Sunday morning.
When asked by State of the Union host Dana Bash about Donald Trump’s victory in New Hampshire in 2016 — and whether the ex-Presisent could ever do it again — the governor hit all the Republican talking points.
“Oh, he could, but I don’t think he will,” Sununu responded.
Gov. Sununu criticized Trump’s recent appearance and speech in New Hampshire as “mundane.”
“He read his teleprompter, he stuck to the talking points — he went away. He’s not really bringing that fire, that energy a lot of folks saw in 2016,” Sununu told Bash.
As the 2024 race gets crowded, the Republican field is one for the books.
A record number of Trump-aligned politicians and those seeking to distance themselves from the divisive and chaotic former commander-in-chief look to moderate GOP members like Sununu for a hail mary save from a potentially Democratic-dominated field in the 2024 presidential contest.
“He's not really bringing that fire, that energy I think that a lot of folks saw in '16. I think in many ways it was a little disappointing to some folks."
Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) on one of former President Trump’s first 2024 campaign stops in New Hampshire. #CNNSOTU @CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/uNeau5gDqj
— CNN (@CNN) January 29, 2023
“I think a lot of folks understand that he’s gonna be a candidate, but he’s also gonna have to earn it,” the New Hampshire governor said.
Gov. Sununu’s father, John, served as the Chief of Staff during former President George W. Bush’s administration.
Perhaps that legacy will give the son a leg up in his political aspirations which have been rumored to include a 2024 run for the GOP presidential nomination.
Back in December, Sununu told Bash that Trump is politically weak at this juncture.
“He’s announcing he’s running for president at his most politically weak point,” Sununu said. “Right? He’s doing it from a point of weakness, from a point of whatever his own agenda is, but it’s kind of just a blip on the radar.”
He’s not wrong.
The public reception for Donald Trump after his announcement has been mixed.
While die-hard MAGAs are on board with the thought of Trump returning to office, others in the party aren’t so sure.
As more high-profile GOP politicians speak up and speak out about the problems involved with another Trump presidency, the whole of America needs to take notice and be forewarned.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
