Former President Donald Trump could not hide his disappointment with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu following his support for rival Nikki Haley.
“I don’t really like your governor,” Trump said at a rally in the nation’s first major state Saturday, drawing boos from the audience. “He’s like a spoiled brat.”
Sununu, a popular Republican governor in a state that has swept every presidential election since 2004, gave Haley a much-coveted endorsement last week.
He has rejected support for Trump, claiming the candidate charged with more than 90 felonies is fomenting “chaos and disruption.”
The former president, who is the undisputed frontrunner in the Granite State, called Sununu a “selfish man” for deciding not to run for the New Hampshire Senate seat in the 2022 election cycle.
Republicans have long sought to recruit Sununu to run against incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), but she eventually concluded that the upper chamber was a place to “debate partisan politics without results.”
He ran for governor and Trump-backed retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc lost to Hassan.
Chris Sununu says he’s ‘all in’ for Nikki Haley and teased that he’ll be campaigning heavily for her with just over a month to go before voters head to the polls in New Hampshire. Reuters
“We’re putting a guy in there that nobody’s ever heard of,” Trump complained at the rally, which was held in Durham, NH.
Trump previously took issue with Sununu’s support of Haley on the Truth Social.
“Chris Sununu could have run for Senate in New Hampshire and WON, but no, he wanted to run for President and, without announcing it, he did. Unfortunately for him, he got ZERO traction, and went back to being Governor,” Trump said.
“Be very important to yourself! Now he cannot be elected in his own State, and can support Nikki, who has no chance of winning.”
Donald Trump leads in all New Hampshire GOP primary polls by large margins. AFP via Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for Sununu’s endorsement, struck a kinder tone.
“Unlike some people run, if someone doesn’t support me, I won’t throw them away. Chris is a good person, he has done a good job. And I will keep saying it. He is a very good campaigner,” DeSantis told CNN.
“Even a campaigner as good as Chris wouldn’t be able to paper over Nikki as an establishment candidate,” he added. “I can’t wait to campaign with [Sununu] next fall as the Republican nominee.”
The 77-year-old former president’s shot at Sununu was reminiscent of his attack on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who broke with the Hawkeye State’s tradition of unsupportive governors, to support DeSantis.
Even before he officially endorsed DeSantis, Trump lashed out at the state’s leader kicking off the nation’s nominating season.
“It will be the end of his political career because MAGA will no longer support him, just as MAGA will no longer support DeSanctimonious. Two very disloyal people coming together, however, is a very beautiful thing to watch,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump is the reigning poll king in the 2024 GOP primary with 44.3% support in New Hampshire, followed by Haley at 18.7%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 13% and DeSantis at 9%, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
The Post contacted Sununu’s spokesperson for comment.
Voters will begin considering the 2024 GOP contest on January 15, 2024, with the Iowa caucuses. The New Hampshire primary is second on the calendar and takes place on January 23, 2024.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
