‘No spine, no morale code’: Chris Sununu takes U-turn, admits support for Trump despite past criticism
ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday grilled New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) over his support for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after targeting him during the primaries.
Earlier, Sununu, who was supporting Nikki Haley for GOP Presidential candidate, had asserted that former US President Donald Trump should drop out if convicted.(Getty Images via AFP)
Sununu appeared for an interview on ABC’s This Week program ahead of Trump’s Hush money trial Manhattan on Monday. During the show, Stephanopoulos asked him if he would back Trump even if he is convicted in a criminal trial.
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Sununu insisted that 51 percent of Americans are now supporting Trump for president since they did not view his multiple indictments or his conduct on January 6, 2021, as disqualifying.
Earlier, Sununu, who was supporting Nikki Haley for GOP Presidential candidate, had asserted that the former US President should drop out if convicted.
“Yeah, look, this trial is not going to have major political ramifications that a lot of people I think think it may have,” the New Hampshire Governor scoffed. “When it comes to these issues, people see it more as reality TV at this point.”
Republican governor supporting the Republican president, says Sununu
When pressed if he is comfortable with supporting someone who’s convicted of a federal crime as president, Sununu responded, saying: “Look, nobody should be shocked that the Republican governor supporting the Republican president.”
Stephanopoulos repeatedly returned to the point that why is Sununu now comfortable with Trump, despite his harsh criticism of the former president for January 6 riot.
The ABC host recalled Sununu’s statement when he said Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection.
To this, Sununu admitted that Trump’s actions surely contributed to that, adding that “there’s no question about that.”
“I hate the election denialism of 2020. Nobody wants to be talking about that in 2024. I think all of that was absolutely terrible,” the Governor stated.
The explanation didn’t sit well with Stephanopoulos who noted: “You’re saying he would be the president. And you’ve said he’s someone who’s contributed to an insurrection.”
“I understand it doesn’t make sense to you, George, but look at the polls. What you’re telling me is you don’t understand why 51% of this country is supporting Donald Trump,” Sununu responded.
In the end, the ABC host asked Sununu to clarify if he would support Trump for president even if he’s convicted in the hush money case. To this, the New Hampshire Governor reacted enthusiastically: “Yeah, me and 51 percent of America.”
Sununu faces flak for taking U-turn
Not just Stephanopoulos, even social media users were shocked with Sununu’s new stance on Trump, with one X user commenting, “no spine, no morale code”.
“After lying to his constituents in New Hampshire for years, he now says he supports Trump. Sununu’s political ambitions on a national level are over. He might be able to lie to the citizens of New Hampshire, but the American people at large aren’t buying it,” another added.
“What hypocrite he is. All the stuff he said about Trump!!! He is a big mouth traitor,” a third user wrote.
According to a recent poll by the New York Times and Siena College, 46% of registered voters across the US support Donald Trump and 45% back Joe Biden in a close race for the presidency.
