Donald Trump slams NH Gov. Sununu after Haley endorsement: ‘Spoiled brat’
Former President Donald Trump couldn’t hide his frustration with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu following his endorsement of rival Nikki Haley.
“I didn’t like your governor very much,” Trump vented at a rally in the nation’s first primary state Saturday, drawing boos from the audience. “He’s like a spoiled brat.”
Sununu, a popular Republican governor in a state that has hewed blue in every presidential election since 2004, gave his highly coveted endorsement to Haley last week.
He had ruled out an endorsement for the Trump, claiming the candidate charged with over 90 felonies is fomenting “chaos and distraction.”
The former president, who is the undisputed frontrunner in the Granite State, called Sununu a “selfish guy” for deciding not to vie for New Hampshire’s Senate seat in the 2022 election cycle.
Republicans had long sought to recruit Sununu to run against incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), but ultimately he concluded that the upper chamber is a place for “debating partisan politics without results.”
He ran for governor instead and Trump-endorsed retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc lost to Hassan.
“We put some guy up there nobody had ever heard of,” Trump complained at the rally, held in Durham, NH.
Trump had previously raged against Sununu’s endorsement of Haley on Truth Social.
“Chris Sununu could have run for the Senate in New Hampshire and WON, but no, he wanted to run for President and, without announcing, did. Sadly for him, he got ZERO traction, and went back to being Governor,” Trump said.
“Very selfish! Now he is unelectable in his own State, and can back Nikki, who has no chance of winning.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who competed for Sununu’s endorsement, struck a more gracious tone.
“Unlike some people running, if someone doesn’t endorse me, I’m not going to go trash them. Chris is a good guy, he’s done a good job. And I’m going to continue to say that. He’s a really good campaigner,” DeSantis told CNN.
“Even a campaigner as good as Chris isn’t going to be able to paper over Nikki being an establishment candidate,” he added. “I look forward to campaigning with [Sununu] next fall as the Republican nominee.”
The 77-year-old former president’s shot at Sununu is reminiscent of his attack on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who broke from the tradition of Hawkeye State governors not endorsing, to back DeSantis.
Even before she formally endorsed DeSantis, Trump lashed out at the leader of the state that kicks off the country’s nominating season.
“It will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again. Two extremely disloyal people getting together is, however, a very beautiful thing to watch,” Trump fumed on Truth Social.
Trump is overwhelmingly the reigning polling king in the 2024 GOP primary with 44.3% support in New Hampshire, followed by Haley at 18.7%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 13%, and DeSantis at 9%, per the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
The Post contacted a Sununu spokesperson for comment.
Voters will begin weighing in on the 2024 GOP contest on Jan. 15, 2024, with the Iowa caucuses. New Hampshire’s primary is second on the calendar and takes place on Jan. 23, 2024.