ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos grilled New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on “This Week” for a hot and tense 9 minutes over the latter’s prior insistence that Donald Trump drop out of the presidential race if he gets convicted on federal charges, while Sununu also endorsed Nikki Haley in the primaries. Sununu sang a different tune Sunday morning and told the host, “Me and 51% of America” will support Trump as the GOP candidate, no matter what.
The admission came near the end of the interview, when Stephanopoulos summarized the exchange neatly. He said, “So just to sum up, you would support him for president, even if he’s convicted in classified documents, you support him for president, even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection.”
“You support him for president, even though you believe he’s lying about the last election, you support him for president, even if he’s convicted in the Manhattan case,” Stephanopoulos continued. “I just want to say the answer to that is ‘yes,’ correct?”
Sununu’s answer in the affirmative was no surprise at that point, as the build-up to the culminating question was tense and direct. After Stephanopoulos reminded the governor of his previous assertion that “the domestic terrorists who attacked the United States Capitol must be held accountable and prosecuted,” he asked if Sununu still stands by that statement.
“One hundred percent, of course they have to be prosecuted, and they are being prosecuted,” Sununu replied. “That’s good. I think he actually, his actions absolutely contributed to that. There’s no question about that.”
“I hate the election denialism of 2020,” the governor added. “Nobody wants to be talking about that in 2024. I think all of that was absolutely terrible, but what people are going to be voting for, what I want, the reason I’m supporting not just the president but a Republican administration — that’s what this is. They want a culture change in Washington.”
After Sununu meandered down the path of anti-wokeness in D.C., Stephanopoulos rerouted to the point at hand. He said, “Your words were very, very clear on Jan. 11th. You said that President Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection. No other president in American history has contributed to an insurrection. So please explain, given the fact that you believe he contributed to an insurrection, how you can say we should have him back in the Oval Office?”
Sununu was quick to reply and admitted that for him, Trump isn’t the main story. He explained, “It’s not, because for me, it’s not about him as much. It is having a Republican administration, Republican secretaries, Republican rules, a sense where states’ rights comes first, individual rights comes first, parents’ rights comes first.”
Later in the exchange, Sununu accused Stephanopoulos of being stuck in a “New York City bubble” that prohibits him from understanding what most Americans want out of their leadership.
“It’s not about just supporting Trump. It’s getting rid of what we have today. It’s about understanding inflation is crushing families. It’s understanding that this border issue is not a Texas issue,” Sununu continued. “It’s a 50-state issue that has to be brought under control. It’s about that type of elitism that the average American is just sick and tired of, and it’s a culture change. That’s what I’m supporting.”
Sununu added that the Jan. 6 insurrection is not a “top issue” for voters.
Watch the interview with Gov. Chris Sununu in the video above.