Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his image. Chris Sununu doesn’t think this will last.
That’s because New Hampshire’s outgoing Republican governor, who routinely oscillates between supporting Trump and criticizing him, believes his party is bigger than its long-standing standard-bearer and the political movement he created.
“Trump is extremely unique. There is no ‘Trump lite’ or ‘Trump 2.0’ that can replace or replicate what he has put on the table, for better or worse,” Sununu said in an interview.
And the Republican Party, he insists, remains a “big tent,” marking diverse constituencies such as Log Cabin Republicans, fiscal hawks, libertarians and social conservatives.
Sununu needs this to be true, at least if he wants a future in politics beyond pundits. The scion of a New Hampshire political dynasty whose brand of old-school Republicanism has been supplanted by hardliners and flamethrowers in the Trump era, Sununu has been re-elected three times and consistently ranked as one of the most popular governors in the country. even as he sometimes defies his party’s Trumpian bent.
However, Sununu, who declined to seek a fifth term, has a mixed record of translating his success running a MAGA-supported Republican Party to other like-minded politicians. Just this year, he helped elect former Sen. Kelly Ayotte as his successor, but failed to get former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley across the finish line in the Granite State GOP presidential primary. And he has no obvious constituency outside of New England should he himself seek higher office.
Sununu, 50, who has endorsed a Senate run in 2022 and a presidential run in 2024, insists he won’t consider either position for at least the next few years. Instead, he says he’s content to return to the private sector and, as he often points out, “make some money.”
As he prepares to hand over the position he held for eight years, Sununu spoke at length with POLITICO about his Efforts to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deathshow he plans to stay involved in politics, why he’s still largely against the legalization of recreational marijuana, and how Trump doesn’t have the Republican Party as stretched as he seems.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
What would you say is your greatest political achievement as governor?
When I first ran for governor, the two big problems facing the state were obviously the opioid epidemic and the mental health crisis. And we just dove right in. We really focused on rural access to care and reinvented recovery-friendly workforce programs. In reality it was about opening access.
Trump has talked a lot about trying to stop the flow of fentanyl, an opioid, across the southern border. Do you think the policies you propose can help achieve this?
The number one problem with the fentanyl crisis is the open border. Closing the border definitely makes it harder for those things to come in.
How would you like to see Trump and Republicans in Congress approach the border? There was a plan on the table last year…
That plan was terrible. The key to all of this is to close the border, but make the ports of entry much more robust to handle the number of people who want to cross legally, authorized and processed. And, most importantly, the “Remain in Mexico” policy must be restored. In addition to closing illegal border crossings, it is necessary to have immigration reform that addresses creating a more modernized path for people to become citizens the right way.
Trump’s plans for larger scale deportations, do you think this is the right way forward?
Specifically for criminals, yes. These are the first people who absolutely should be deported. Beyond that, Congress and the president can address the next phase, but I think it should be divided into phases.
Let’s go back to New Hampshire for a minute. I want to talk about cannabis. You have largely been skeptical of the legalization of recreational marijuana, that failed again this year in the state Legislature. Why should New Hampshire lose tax revenue because of this when all surrounding states provide access to it?
Drugs should never be legalized for money. That’s horrible. If you are legalizing marijuana because you need more money, then you have a state that works terribly. So there is a question of ethics and health here. I can tell you that virtually every governor (in the surrounding New England states) has pointed out to me several problems with legalizing marijuana, whether it’s the exacerbated mental health issues, whether it’s the black market it fundamentally creates, whether it’s the advertising problems, proximity to schools that creates many problems for parents. There are so many reasons not to do it. If you were going to do it here, you would have to do it in a responsible and controlled way that keeps you away from children and allows the state to control the marketing messages. I was semi-open to it if it could be. controlled the right way.
Before the election, we talked about abortion and how Democrats were working hard on the issue in New Hampshire.. You said the issue was becoming less important and that voters were more concerned about the economy. The Republican won the race for governor, what is your assessment now?
In 2022, Roe v. Wade it had just happened; It was much more of an unknown topic. This time two more years have passed. The people of New Hampshire, no one is denied an abortion, no one is denied their rights (the state restricts abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions). So the alarmism has not come true. There are some individual states and places that are more restrictive or less restrictive, but that’s up to the voters (in those states) to decide. It will still be a problem, but it simply won’t be the political problem Democrats want it to be.
Do you think there is still room within the Republican Party to criticize Trump when necessary?
Of course. Did (former Rep.) Matt Gaetz just get kicked out of his nomination to be U.S. attorney general? Yes. Look, it’s never easy to criticize the president and the standard-bearer of your party, and there’s always that sort of political honeymoon period that occurs when you’re first elected. But there are already signs of people who are willing to push back, criticize and say no when they feel they have to say no. And that should give the American people a huge sigh of relief knowing that it is not the evil dictatorship that the liberal media told us it was going to be.
Trump is term limited. So that opens up the question of what will happen in 2028. Do you think Vice President-elect and Ohio Senator JD Vance is locked in for the nomination in 2028? Or do you think there will be a real, contested primary?
There will definitely be a real and contested primary. By the way, I think JD is great. He has proven to have overcome a lot of the early criticism he (faced). He is competent. He is incredibly smart on his feet. He knows the problems. He is very cordial. He gets along well with the other party, that was demonstrated in the vice presidential debate and I think that gave strength to the entire candidacy. So there’s no doubt he’s in a great position if he wanted to run in the 28th. But no one is just going to give it to him. You have to put it to the test. I imagine if I wanted to be a favorite, I would be. But no, there will be a lot of people from all walks of life running.
You know I’m going to ask you if you’re thinking about it.
No. Not for the 28th, I’m definitely not thinking about that.
Do you then rule out a presidential candidacy in 2028?
I’m not ruling anything out, but there is no story there. It’s literally zero on my list in terms of thinking about anything. I don’t see myself racing in 2028. That would be, gosh, a real change in my plans. I don’t see any path for that to actually happen. I am excited to return to the private sector.
So what are your plans? What’s next for you?
I’m going to go into the private sector and make some money, do some entrepreneurial type things, but I’ll also be in the media a little bit. I have a few ideas to keep me scratching the political itch through various media spaces and content creation around smart political content.
He has been lobbying to support Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plans for the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Tell me how that can work.
You can really look to the states for ideas. Musk needs to use it (even though he’s an outsider, he has political capital), he needs to use it and make sure he’s not just presenting a list of good ideas to Congress, a Republican Congress that’s typically lukewarm about doing anything substantial. . Congress simply cannot prevent excessive spending, including Republicans. So he and Trump could use their combined political capital to ensure that whatever they do lasts. It would be a great legacy initiative for them. Congress really needs to be pressured to pursue some kind of balanced budget. Ultimately, they will have to start talking about reforms to social benefits or Social Security, which simply have to come because our bills are overdue.
Trump wants to end daylight saving time. You said in a recent op-ed that you support that. But the current pressure on Congress is to make daylight saving time permanent. What do you think about that?
I don’t care if you make it permanent or get rid of it, but let’s stop changing the clock, right? That’s my point. I don’t mind. Choose a time. You get exactly the same whether you make it permanent or delete it. The point is that we stop changing the clock.