Former President Donald Trump couldn’t hide his frustration with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu following his endorsement of rival Nikki Haley.
“I didn’t like your governor very much,” Trump said at a rally in the nation’s first primary state on Saturday, drawing boos from the audience. “He’s like a spoiled brat.”
Sununu, a popular Republican governor in a state that has gone blue in every presidential election since 2004, gave his much-coveted endorsement to Haley last week.
He had ruled out an endorsement of Trump, alleging that the candidate accused of more than 90 felonies is fomenting “chaos and distraction.”
The former president, who is the clear favorite in the Granite State, called Sununu a “selfish guy” for deciding not to run for New Hampshire’s Senate seat in the 2022 election cycle.
Republicans had long sought to recruit Sununu to run against incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), but he ultimately concluded that the upper chamber is a place to “debate partisan policies to no avail.”
Instead, he ran for governor and Trump-backed retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc lost to Hassan.
Chris Sununu said he “completely agrees” with Nikki Haley and teased that he would campaign hard for her with just over a month until voters go to the polls in New Hampshire. REUTERS
“We put a guy there that no one had ever heard of,” Trump complained at the rally in Durham, New Hampshire.
Trump had previously criticized Sununu’s endorsement of Haley on Truth Social.
“Chris Sununu could have run for Senate in New Hampshire and WIN, but no, he wanted to run for president and, without announcing it, he did. Unfortunately for him, he got ZERO traction and became governor again,” Trump said.
“Very selfish! Now he’s not eligible in his own state and can back Nikki who has no chance of winning.”
Donald Trump leads all New Hampshire Republican primary polls by a considerable margin. AFP via Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was vying for Sununu’s endorsement, took a gentler tone.
“Unlike some people who run, if someone doesn’t endorse me, I’m not going to criticize them. Chris is a good guy, he’s done a good job. And I’m going to keep saying that. He is a very good activist.” DeSantis told CNN.
“Even an activist as good as Chris won’t be able to hide the fact that Nikki is an establishment candidate,” he added. “I hope to campaign with [Sununu] next fall as a Republican candidate.”
The 77-year-old former president’s shot at Sununu is reminiscent of his attack on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who broke with tradition of Hawkeye State governors not endorsing DeSantis.
Even before formally endorsing DeSantis, Trump lashed out at the leader of the state that kicks off the nation’s nominating season.
“It will be the end of her political career in the sense that MAGA will never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again. However, it is a very beautiful thing to see two extremely disloyal people come together,” Trump fumed on Truth Social.
Trump is overwhelmingly the poll king in the 2024 Republican primary with 44.3% support in New Hampshire, followed by Haley at 18.7%, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at 13% and DeSantis at 9%, according to the latest survey aggregate from RealClearPolitics. .
The Post contacted a Sununu spokesperson for comment.
Voters will begin weighing in on the 2024 Republican race on January 15, 2024, with the Iowa caucuses. The New Hampshire primary is second on the calendar and will take place on January 23, 2024.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn