Trump hints he'd again longtime critic's bid to flip Dem Senate seat in 2026

[ad_1] It seems that President Donald Trump has buried the hatchet on the subject of former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who for years was a high Republican critic of the previous and present president.

Trump now says that if Sununu runs for the Senate in 2026 for the seat presently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, his former antagonist would have his full assist.

Sununu, who in January accomplished his fourth and remaining two-year time period steering swing state New Hampshire, told Fox News Digital in an interview final month that he aimed to decide relating to a 2026 marketing campaign within the "subsequent few weeks."

He emphasised that "I've little question I would have the president's assist," if he determined to make a bid for the Senate .

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President Donald Trump talks to members of the press aboard Air Drive One throughout a flight to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on April 6, 2025. ( REUTERS/Kent Nishimura )

Trump, when requested by reporters about Sununu as he flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening aboard Air Drive One, revealed that the 2 politicians met not too long ago on the White Home.

"I advised him — He got here to my workplace, got here to the Oval Workplace, and [I] met with Chris Sununu, and I assist him totally. I hope he runs," Trump mentioned. "He’s been very good to me over the past yr or so, however no, I hope he runs. I feel he’ll win that seat."

Sununu supported Trump throughout the 2016 basic election and once more when Trump unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020. The then-governor had a powerful working relationship with the Trump White Home, together with shut ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence.

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Nevertheless, Sununu pushed again towards Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" and "stolen." He additionally began stating in early 2021 that the GOP was bigger than anybody individual, which was perceived as a swipe on the then-former president.

Sununu amped up his criticism of the previous president throughout quite a few nationwide interviews on cable information networks and Sunday speak exhibits, repeatedly arguing that Trump had an excessive amount of political baggage to win again the White Home. Moreover, Sununu started mulling a attainable 2024 White House run of his personal, which he in the end determined towards.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/672/378/Chris-Sununu-endorses-Nikki-Haley-Manchester-NH-Dec.-12.-2023.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/1344/756/Chris-Sununu-endorses-Nikki-Haley-Manchester-NH-Dec.-12.-2023.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/931/523/Chris-Sununu-endorses-Nikki-Haley-Manchester-NH-Dec.-12.-2023.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/1862/1046/Chris-Sununu-endorses-Nikki-Haley-Manchester-NH-Dec.-12.-2023.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire endorses former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at a marketing campaign occasion in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Dec. 12, 2023. (Fox Information - Paul Steinhauser)

Nevertheless, he ended up backing and changing into a high surrogate of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley within the 2024 GOP presidential major. Haley ended up being the ultimate rival to Trump within the nomination race.

Trump sometimes returned hearth at Sununu, calling him a "spoiled brat" and a "nasty man," amongst different issues.

Nevertheless, after Trump clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, Sununu mentioned he would vote for his occasion's presidential nominee.

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Earlier this yr, Sununu mentioned in a Fox Information Digital interview that "Donald Trump is the pinnacle of the occasion, and he is the voice of the Republican Celebration, and I bought to say, I feel he is doing a reasonably darn good job within the first couple months."

Relating to a possible 2026 Senate run for a seat Republicans are aiming to flip from blue to purple as they hope to increase their present 53-47 majority within the chamber, Sununu advised Fox Information Digital final month that whereas "the door’s open" to working, he emphasised "it is not open quite a bit, to be trustworthy."

Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to 4 straight two-year phrases as governor, touted that "I've little question I can win."

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox Information Digital on his remaining full day in workplace, on Jan. 8, 2025 on the Statehouse in Harmony, New Hampshire. (Fox Information - Paul Steinhauser)

The previous governor’s feedback in current interviews are a swap from final yr, when he repeatedly mentioned he wouldn't search to run for the Senate in 2026.

4 years in the past, Sununu expressed curiosity in working for the Senate towards his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The favored governor was closely courted by nationwide Republicans to tackle Hassan, however on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu introduced that he would as a substitute run for a fourth time period as governor, upsetting many Republicans within the nation's capital.

Moreover, he closely criticized the Senate. "They debate and speak and nothing will get achieved," he mentioned on the time.

Sununu, who left workplace in January with very optimistic approval and favorable scores, is seen by nationwide Republicans as one of the best candidate to win the seat. Nevertheless, he's not the one Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.

Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who later narrowly misplaced to Shaheen in New Hampshire within the 2014 election, is severely contemplating a 2026 run.

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Former Sen. Scott Brown is interviewed by Fox Information Digital on Dec. 24, 2024 in Rye, New Hampshire. (Fox Information - Paul Steinhauser)

Brown, who served 4 years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand throughout Trump’s first administration, has been holding conferences with Republicans throughout New Hampshire for a few months and has met a number of occasions with GOP officers within the nation’s capital.

Earlier this yr, Brown met with high Trump administration political officers on the White Home, sources advised Fox Information.

When requested in regards to the president's feedback relating to Sununu, Brown advised Fox Information in an announcement that "President Trump is the chief of the occasion, and he has earned the precise to endorse whoever he helps. There isn't a path to a Republican nomination working towards President Trump-backed candidates."

Within the race for the Democratic Senate nomination in New Hampshire, four-term Rep. Chris Pappas formally launched his marketing campaign final week.

Utilizing clips of a listening tour he made by means of all ten of New Hampshire's counties final month as he ramped up towards working for the Senate, Pappas mentioned voters really feel like "the system's rigged."

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<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/672/378/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/1344/756/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/931/523/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/1862/1046/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/720/405/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/04/1440/810/chris-pappas-campaign-launch-manchester-nh-april-3-2025-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., publicizes his bid to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a fellow Democrat, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Manchester, New Hampshire. ( AP Photograph/Robert F. Bukaty)

"You consider the Social Safety workplace that is going to be closed in Littleton, drastic cuts to Medicaid, all within the identify of giving large tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk, " he argued, as he pointed to Trump's high donor and the world's richest individual, who's main the administration's controversial downsizing of the federal authorities workforce.

Pappas emphasised, "I do get offended, as a result of if you're speaking about public service, you ought to be centered on how one can assist individuals, how one can make individuals's lives higher."

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Pappas might not have the Democratic Senate major in New Hampshire all to himself.

Sources near Rep. Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire's different Home member, mentioned final month that the first-term consultant is contemplating a Senate run.