New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu expects Trump to participate in the vote amid the 14th Amendment debate
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday he “fully expects” former President Donald Trump to be on the ballot in his state in 2024 as some Trump opponents weigh legal challenges, to bar Trump from running for office.
An attempt backed by some conservative and liberal Trump opponents aims to use a little-known provision in the 14th amendment to prevent Trump’s eventual return to the White House. The determination bans people who have “taken part in an insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office, and some people are preparing to challenge Trump’s electoral status on these grounds in states across the country, including New Hampshire.
During an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd Sununu, who runs the state with the first primary and second contest overall in the 2024 Republican nomination process, asked if the debate over the use of the 14th amendment might become one Outcome could have an impact on whether Trump appears on the ballot.
Todd asked, “Do you expect this lawsuit to be heard before Donald Trump is on the New Hampshire ballot?”
Sununu dismissed the possibility: “No, Donald Trump will — if Donald Trump follows the rules like everyone else and registers like everyone else — that’s the beauty of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary.” “
“It’s a very open, very simple process that a lot of people can participate in, so I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t participate in this vote,” Sununu added.
The governor said that if someone tries to challenge the state’s 14th amendment in court, “it’s not really a New Hampshire issue.”
“They are conducting a lawsuit against the 14th amendment of the US Constitution, which would therefore apply to all 50 states,” he said. “So no, I totally assume the former president is on our ballots.”
Trump, meanwhile, is raising money from the potential 14th Amendment cases and emailed his supporters Sunday morning to criticize “traitorous ‘Republicans'” for considering such challenges.
When asked if he was more concerned about four more years of President Joe Biden or Trump, Sununu, who was weighing a presidential campaign before deciding not to run, replied: “To be honest, what worries me more is the question , whether we just get involved both back on the ticket.”
“That’s not what America wants. It doesn’t mean our primary system is broken,” he said. “It means more of us have to get involved in the system to make sure our voices are heard, just like the 70% of Americans who always want to look ahead.” With Biden and Trump, there’s a lot to look back and spark Drama.”
Sununu has previously warned his Republican peers that the party will “ebb and flow” in 2024 if Trump is the nominee, and Todd also asked him why most Republican presidential candidates haven’t directly targeted the former president, just as he and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp did.
Sununu first hailed Kemp this week for being “spot on” when he dismissed calls from several far-right state lawmakers for a special session of the Legislature to potentially indict Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted Charges of a crime have emerged as part of her wide-ranging investigation into her efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.
Sununu then argued that “you don’t have to take it personally” when denouncing Trump.
“I’m not saying other candidates do that. I mean, when you’re running for president against the former president, it’s certainly a very strange dynamic,” he said. “The key to running against Trump is not just running against Trump, but just pointing and hitting the ball the way you see him, you don’t make things personal. You are doing things that are clearly in the best interests of the constituents you serve, regardless of party.”
