New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday that former President Donald J. Trump “absolutely contributed” to an insurgency and that Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were “absolutely terrible” — but that nothing, not even felony convictions. would prevent him from voting for Mr. Trump because the economy, border security and “culture change” were more important.
The interview, on ABC News’ “This Week,” marked Mr. Sununu’s transformation from a Trump critic — while he supported Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, he said Mr. Trump was “worried about jail time” and “not true republican”– to a loyal soldier.
It’s a transformation that has been repeated repeatedly in the Republican Party, and one that Mr. Sununu previewed in January when he campaigned for Ms. Haley but said he would support Mr. Trump if he won the nomination.
“No one should be surprised by my support,” he said on Sunday. “I think the real conversation is, you know, Americans are moving away from Biden. That’s kind of what Biden has become as president. There’s no doubt about it, right? You can’t ignore inflation. You can’t ignore the border and say these courthouse issues are going to be the only thing that puts Biden back in office.”
The interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, pressed Mr. Sununu for supporting a man he said “contributed to the uprising” on January 6.
Mr Sununu confirmed that he still believes this. But he said it should not surprise anyone that a Republican governor would support a Republican candidate and suggested that Mr. Stephanopoulos was out of touch with the public if he believed that concerns about democracy or felony convictions would affect the voters.
“Do you think a president who contributed to a rebellion should be president again?” asked Mr. Stephanopoulos.
“As is 51 percent of America, George,” Mr. Sununu said. “I mean, really. I understand you’re part of the media, I understand you’re in this bubble of New York or whatever, but you have to look around at what’s going on in this country.”
He continued: “This is not just about supporting Trump. It gets rid of what we have today. It is to understand that inflation crushes families. We understand that this border issue is not a Texas issue, it’s a 50 state issue that needs to be brought under control. This is the kind of elitism that the average American is just sick and tired of, and it’s a culture change. That’s what I support.”
Inflation has fallen sharply since peaking in 2022 but was higher than expected in a report published last week.
Mr. Sununu said Americans’ desire for a “culture change,” a phrase he used eight times but did not specifically define, outweighed concerns about Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election or the four criminal trials he faces, the the first of which starts this week.
While Mr. Trump as the Republican nominee was not what he wanted, “we’ll take it if we have to,” Mr. Sununu said. “This is how badly America wants a culture change.”
Mr. Stephanopoulos pushed back once more.
“So to sum it up, you would support him for president even if he was convicted with classified documents,” he said. “You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to a rebellion. You support him for president even though you believe he is lying about the last election. You would support him for president even if he is convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say, the answer to that is yes, right?’
“Yes,” said Mr. Sununu. “Me and 51 percent of America.”
