MSNBC host grills Sununu over promise to support Trump if he wins nomination
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Tuesday defended his pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee, even if it is former President Trump as a convicted felon, during an interview with host Katy Tur on MSNBC.
Sununu, who has endorsed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP primary race, said last week he will support Trump as the Republican presidential nominee even if he is convicted. Sununu pointed to what he considers President Biden's poor performance and that the country "need[s] to see a change."
Tur asked the governor whether such a promise risks undermining the enthusiasm for Haley.
"No, no, no. The point there is very clear. If folks think that something, some external factor is going to take Trump down, the court cases are going to come to bear, and then he's really in trouble, that is not happening, guys. That is a hypothetical. It is not happening."
"You beat Donald Trump at the ballot box. You beat Donald Trump by getting out the vote. It happens right here in New Hampshire," he continued.
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Tur then asked Sununu if his potential support of Trump tells voters the former president is not a threat to democracy, or that it doesn't matter that "chaos follows him," as Haley has repeatedly argued on the campaign trail.
"No, because that's the general election," Sununu said. "We're focused on the primary, right? The realities of the general election are the realities. Joe Biden is that bad of a president, has done that bad of a job that even someone with all the chaos and drama of Donald Trump would actually potentially have a shot."
Sununu said a Trump-Biden rematch was "America's worst nightmare."
Pressed further on whether he thinks the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot was a big deal, Sununu said, "Of course it was ... absolutely." But he said that wasn't a priority issue for Republican primary voters.
Sununu's comments come a week ahead of his state's primary, where Haley has narrowed the gap between herself and Trump to nearly 8 percentage points, according to the polling index by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ.
Polling as of Tuesday shows Trump with about 41.4 percent in the Granite State, while Haley has the backing of about 33.4 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has seen his support diminish to nearly 6 percent in the key early-voting state.
Trump trounced Haley and DeSantis in the Iowa caucuses Monday, with DeSantis finishing second slightly ahead of Haley. However, Haley still argues the GOP primary is a two-person race between she and Trump, and on Tuesday she pulled out of future primary debates unless Trump or Biden is on stage.