Live free or bow out
Sununu’s exit from prez field underwhelming
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s predictable withdrawal from the 2024 presidential field landed with a thud — the latest contribution from milquetoast Northeast Republicans.
To say Sununu’s announcement landed with a thud is even giving it too much impact. Almost no one thought he was really going to run anyway. Well, maybe CNN bit on it.
It comes the same day former Vice President Mike Pence announces his White House bid and the day before former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum wades into the 2024 battle. That’s right, Burgum.
Sununu said he decided not to run because he didn’t want to expand the crowded field any more, making it easier for Donald Trump to win the nomination.
“The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35% of the vote, and I will help to ensure this does not happen,” he tweeted.
Sununu also got on his favorite network to scold Republicans who are in the race, saying they should get out if they can’t win.
“There are 12 people in the race. I don’t think all 112 of them firmly believe that they can be president, I think a lot of them just want to audition to be in the Cabinet or vice president. And at this time, there’s no place for that,” he said on CNN.
But the reality is you can include Sununu on that list. He was dead last in the polls even in his home state and could not compete against Trump or even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. His brief flirtation with a White House run was somewhat embarrassing, although it did give him a platform on liberal networks. Sununu is such a political lightweight he makes Mitt Romney seem like a heavyweight.
Sununu, who also turned down a U.S. Senate bid last year, said he plans to stay involved in the race by endorsing someone.
No thanks, Chris. Who wants that kiss of death?
Let’s not forget where Sununu comes from. His father, former White House chief of staff John Sununu, was forced out partly because of the “travelgate” scandal — taking more than 70 rides on military jets for personal use like ski trips and visits to the dentist. So his constant dumping on Trump for ethical problems sounds a little hollow.
“If he is the nominee, Republicans will lose again,” Sununu said of Trump in an op-ed in the Washington Post. “Just as we did in 2018, 2020 and 2022.”
Sununu of course leaves out 2016, when Trump won the White House for Republicans.
Sununu is relatively popular in the Granite State, and likely could win another term as governor. Or maybe he’s holding out for an upset defeat of Trump so he can latch on with another RINO candidate.
While he was flirting with a run, Sununu was trying to walk a fine line of being a Romneyesque Republican, and calling himself conservative. Sununu is more in the mold of former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, and Sen. Mitt Romney — all former or current Bay State governors, none of them profiles in courage.
Last time we heard from Romney he was feuding with George Santos
Are these weak Northeast governors supposed to represent the new Republican Party? If so you can count on Democrats controlling the states for decades to come.