Trump ‘only’ having four endorsements from GOP governors shows ‘there’s a problem’: Chris Sununu

September 10, 2023 10:59 AM


Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) claimed Sunday there might be a problem for former President Donald Trump in terms of support, noting that he boasts only a fraction of Republican governor endorsements despite being a former president.

“If he’s a former sitting incumbent president and the leader of the party and he only has four Republican governors behind him, that tells you there’s a problem,” Sununu told Jon Karl on ABC’s This Week.

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Karl had asked Sununu to respond to Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R-SD) endorsement of Trump on Friday, marking his fourth from a Republican governor. He also enjoys the support of Govs. Henry McMaster (R-SC), Jim Justice (R-WV), and Mike Dunleavy (R-AK).

Two Republican governors, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), are running against Trump for the 2024 nomination. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) has endorsed DeSantis, who is second to Trump in most polls. Former Vice President Mike Pence has further received the endorsement of Gov. Eric Holcomb (R-IN).


“My sense is there’s a lot of governors kind of sitting on the sidelines saying ‘how does this all play out?’ just like most of the Republican base is, like there’s a lot of time to go, we’ve only had one debate,” Sununu explained.

“The fact that former President Trump is a former president, the leader of the party, and he doesn’t even really have 50% of the Republican base support tells you there’s a real problem,” he claimed. “Now, that’s actually an incredibly low number.”

Sununu believes the presidential primary field will begin to shed candidates, consolidating non-Trump support behind another contender. “If it gets to one-on-one Trump and another candidate, that other candidate is undoubtedly going to beat him by the time that convention rolls around. So if the candidates have the discipline to narrow the field, they’ll get there,” he said.

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “President Trump has more endorsements from governors than any other person in the race. More broadly, he has more endorsements from U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, and Governors than anyone else in the race — combined.”

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According to the New Hampshire governor, Trump had “good ideas” as president, but he didn’t deliver on them. “We just need to find the conservative leader that can fulfill on the mission,” Sununu explained.

As governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state, as well as leveraging tremendous popularity, Sununu’s endorsement could hold significant weight. Karl asked him if he planned to make an endorsement ahead of the Republican primary, to which Sununu said he would. However, he didn’t divulge which candidates are on his “short list.”

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