New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Donald Trump supporter, said he isn’t a fan of the former president’s intensifying rhetoric but that his language is already baked in as an issue for voters heading into Election Day in just over two weeks.
Speaking to “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, Sununu, who had previously endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s presidential bid in the GOP primaries, swatted away Trump’s rally Saturday in which he used profane language to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris and graphically reference golfer Arnold Palmer’s anatomy.
“I don’t like the profanity, I don’t like personal attacks, I don’t like any of that stuff. I’m a results driven guy when it comes to public service, but nothing new, and nothing that’s going to move the dial when it comes to this election right now. It’s an outrageous statement by Donald Trump. Okay, must be a Friday night, right? It’s just par for the course,” Sununu said.
Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., on “This Week.”
ABC News
“I don’t like it. You don’t like it. A lot of folks don’t like it. I will tell you this. I think one of the mistakes is if Kamala Harris thinks that they’re just repeating the crazy things Trump says is going to garner her those swing voters, that’s not what they’re going to the polls on. They’ve heard that, that’s established, that’s nothing. The real comparison is, is your life better than it was four years ago?”
The remarks come amid Trump’s increasingly dark and sometimes crass rhetoric on the campaign trail.
Besides attacking Harris as inept and making reference to Palmer’s genitalia, Trump has attacked opponents as “the enemy within” and some Democrats worry whether Election Day will be peaceful.
“We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics,” Trump said last weekend on Fox News. “And I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by the National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Harris seized on Trump’s remarks to suggest he is “unstable,” but Sununu said attacking Trump over his behavior won’t move the electoral needle.
“I think it should give everyone pause. Nobody likes that, that type of stuff and that type of hyperbole. But let’s, look he was president for four years,” Sununu said. “Did he go after his political enemies? Did he weaponize the Department of Justice and go after Hillary Clinton? Of course, he didn’t do that. He’s trying to get his base riled up.”
Sununu did concede that Trump has to reach out to swing voters, predicting that there may be as many as 5% of Republicans who won’t vote for the former president because of his character, but that there are other groups who could be persuaded by economic arguments.
“Politically, he needs to reach out to the swing voters who are really on the fence,” he said. “And those can be independents, they can be moderate Republicans, they can be moderate Democrats, some of that union bloc that is just absolutely tired of not being able to afford to take their family to McDonald’s. So, it’s not a moderate voter, it’s a swing voter.”
“For some people, the open border is the top priority. For some people, they just want their family to be able to afford childcare and housing, and that’s their top priority. So, they’re going to vote for change,” he added.
A key part of Trump’s economic plan is slapping a broad swath of tariffs on imports, which he insists will bring business into the country but experts say will raise prices for Americans. Still, Sununu said voters are putting a greater emphasis on cost of living rather than the complexities of tariff policy.
“I don’t love every tariff proposal he’s put forward, but when it comes to the voter, where this election is going, no voter’s voting on tariffs, it’s a very complex thing,” he said. “When it comes to the economy, what they’re what that really means is, ‘Can I afford to bring my kids to McDonald’s? Can I afford to pay the rent?’ The economy really translates to a cost of living issue.”
