Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said his repeated jabs at Donald Trump that the former president cannot win back the White House in 2024 are “nothing personal.”
However, Trump, who launched his third straight White House run in November, seems to be taking the criticisms personally.
“Isn’t he a nasty guy?” Trump said of Sununu as the former president held a campaign event last Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Trump, who is the clear front-runner at this early point in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race, swiped at Sununu for teasing but ultimately deciding against running for the Senate in 2022 against Democratic incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan, whom Republicans had heavily targeted and viewed as vulnerable.
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“He could’ve really made an impact,” Trump said of Sununu. “He could’ve run for the Senate. He probably would’ve easily won because of the family name, would’ve won. And that would have been a tremendous thing.”
Pointing to Sununu’s potential 2024 presidential run, Trump said “instead, he wants to play games with running for president.”
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When asked about Trump’s comments, the popular Republican governor told reporters on Wednesday that “I didn’t see his speech, really.”
“We all need, as Republicans, someone that can win in November of ’24. Period, end of story, that’s it. If you can’t assure the Republican Party that you can cross the line in November of ’24 — and it’s pretty clear he can’t — then we have to find somebody else. That’s it. It’s nothing personal. We’re moving on as a party,” Sununu said.
Sununu supported Trump during the 2016 general election and again as the then-president unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020. The governor had a strong working relationship with the Trump White House, including close ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence.
However, Sununu has long pushed back against Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen.” He also started stating in early 2021 that the GOP is larger than any one person, which was perceived as a swipe at the former president.
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Starting last autumn, Sununu amped up his criticism of the former president during numerous national interviews on the cable news networks and the Sunday talk shows.
Taking aim at Trump for potentially skipping the first Republican presidential primary debate in August, Sununu said this past weekend on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America” that “leaders don’t wimp out. If President Trump wimps out on this one, he’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”
Sununu has teased a 2024 presidential campaign for months and has said he will likely decide in the early summer, following the conclusion of New Hampshire’s current legislative session and the signing of the state’s next two-year budget.
“My family’s behind me,” Sununu told Fox News on Sunday.
“My mission right now is to make the party bigger,” the governor said. “Now if that means me getting on the stage and I can do that in the best way, I’m going to do it. I think that would be a lotta fun and I guarantee Fox a lot of great ratings. But if I can be a better helper and more of a team player by helping other candidates, I’m going to do that as well.”
