Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Trump critic who has endorsed Nikki Haley, said that if the former president won the nomination he would support him, even if convicted.
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Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire at a campaign event for Nikki Haley in December. “Right now, it looks like most of America would vote for him,” Mr. Sununu said of Donald J. Trump on CNN.
Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, who has been a vocal critic of former President Donald J. Trump, nonetheless committed on Wednesday to supporting him if he won the Republican nomination, even if he were convicted of a felony.
Mr. Sununu, a Republican who in December endorsed Nikki Haley, Mr. Trump’s rival and former United Nations ambassador, was asked by CNN whether he would hesitate to back Mr. Trump as the G.O.P. nominee should he be found guilty in any of the four criminal cases proceeding against him.
“Look, I think most of us are all going to support the Republican nominee,” Mr. Sununu said. “There’s no question.”
Mr. Sununu joins a long list of top Republicans who have resisted abandoning Mr. Trump, one that includes Ms. Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, another opponent of Mr. Trump in the narrowing G.O.P. race. At the first Republican primary debate in August, all but two of Mr. Trump’s opponents raised their hands when asked if they would support the former president should he win the nomination and be convicted.
Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, one of the two who signaled that he would not, dropped out of the race on Wednesday. The other, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, has barely registered in national polling.
Mr. Sununu doubled down on his loyalty to whichever candidate wins the nomination, telling CNN that defeating President Biden in the November election was his motivation.
“Right now, it looks like most of America would vote for him,” he said of Mr. Trump. “I’m going to support the Republican nominee, absolutely. Yeah, that shouldn’t shock anybody.”
Mr. Sununu plays a starring role in a television ad for Ms. Haley in New Hampshire, where she is within striking distance of Mr. Trump in recent polls before the Jan. 23 primary.
“She’s a new generation of conservative leadership, who can help leave behind the chaos and the drama of the past,” Mr. Sununu says in the ad, alluding to Mr. Trump.
Neil Vigdor covers politics for The Times, focusing on voting rights issues and election disinformation. More about Neil Vigdor
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Source: nytimes.com
