“It’s Bull****!”: Sununu On Trump for Siding With Cuomo Over DeSantis On Covid

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Guy Benson: Joining us now is Chris Sununu, the 82nd governor of the great state of New Hampshire. And, Governor, it’s good to have you back on the show.

Chris Sununu: It is great to be here. There’s only one real pressing question. I’ve never tried to the long drink. What is this? Is it seltzers or like a hard seltzer? Is it a beer?

Guy Benson: Well, I’m so glad that you asked, Governor, because they’ve been great sponsors of ours for a couple of years. I am a huge fan of it. It is closer to a seltzer, but it’s better than the seltzer. So if you think about like a Truly or that kind of beverage that is made with malt liquor, whereas the Long Drink is made with premium liquor, it’s a Finnish creation. In Finland. It’s been the most popular alcoholic beverage in Finland for decades and decades. And my buddy started the company, brought it to the U.S., and it’s just exploding in popularity. It’s very refreshing. It’s really good for late spring and summer in particular. I do enjoy it year round, but like it’s peak season is summer and it kind of tastes like a Fresca or a Squirt, but there is booze in it, but you don’t really taste the booze, which is great, but also dangerous. So please drink responsibly.

Chris Sununu: Fresca. How about a Fresca? I’m definitely going to try to look for the for your listeners who don’t know, New Hampshire is one of the few control states, which means I run one of the largest liquor retail outlets in the country. And so I will have to make sure that we get the Long Drink on our shelves. It sounds delicious. I will try one at 5:01 today.

Guy Benson: Well, that so like literally right now. So wait until the segment’s over and then go find yourself a Long Drink. And if you’re looking to see where it’s near you, the long drink dot com is their website. Sounds like you’ve got a few connections in that space, so I’ll leave you to it. And I’m pleased to report back. And for the record, we did not plan this. This was not like an extra plugging of the sponsor. This is just curiosity from one of our great governors in the country. Governor So let’s just start with this. I have now seen you, what, two or three times in states other than New Hampshire, meeting with top Republican and conservative groups and donors and that sort of thing. Obviously, you’ve been testing the waters for a potential national run for president. You have not decided what you’re going to do. I saw the other day you mentioned the next couple of weeks will be your official decision unveiled one way or the other as you’ve been dipping your toe in the waters and listening to people. Let’s just start with that. What have you been hearing?

Chris Sununu: Well, everyone understands that the Republican Party ticket is vitally important. No one wants a repeat of 2022. Obviously, there’s a lot of concern that if there’s too many other candidates other than former President Trump on the ticket, that it’s going to potentially dilute out the ability to galvanize behind a single candidate. I don’t believe that. I think ultimately a lot of folks are going to get in. The discipline is getting out right before a little, probably a little bit for Iowa and New Hampshire. If you’re sitting in single digits or low single digits, move on out, clear the field. But let’s give everyone a chance to get on that debate stage. Who wants to have that chance? But then the discipline is kind of moving to a much narrower field. And I do believe that’s going to happen. There’s a lot of, you know, you need money. You know, we you when you have a great product, you got to advertise. And that takes really the financial support. And there is a lot of money out there. Holy cow. That is not going with the former President Trump. That is very open to new ideas and new candidates, which is very exciting. And there’s a path and maybe not as traditional of a path for someone like myself, but boy, it is stark. It’s right there. It’s something that I’m encouraging everyone to look at, whether it’s through Iowa or New Hampshire. There’s a lot of homework on disenfranchized Republicans, but Republicans that understand that Donald Trump is going to drag this ticket down whether you support him or not. That’s not the issue for me. It’s for me. It’s thank you for your service. But your cost to Senate seats in 22, you cost us governorships. Your message does not sell to independents or young voters. We’re constantly losing. That gap is getting bigger and bigger with those very key demographics. The suburban moms that are out there that we used to have in the party that we’ve lost. These are really critical folks we need back on the team and he’s not going to turn. So there’s a lot of opportunity to bring those folks back, whether it’s my message or someone else’s. I think there’s there’s a lot of excitement around that. So people are optimistic. But right now, as we all know, the former president, I think I say it all the time. He’s actually of all people. Donald Trump is playing the victim card really well. I mean, he is he’s just, you know, in the media has created that. The left wing media has really driven a narrative this DA in New York is, you know, just beating the heck out of them for purely political reasons. I empathize with that and sympathize with that. I think it’s completely inappropriate. But, man, he is playing that one to its fullest extent. I just don’t think and I think a lot of people understand it doesn’t mean that doesn’t that support today doesn’t necessarily translate to a vote eight or nine months from now. Still a long way out. We’re still months away from the debates, for goodness sakes. So a lot of game to play, a lot of opportunity in there.

Guy Benson: Are you leaning one way or the other on this? Because you see all these guys and gals come through your state all the time. Nikki Haley’s been setting up shop in New. Hampshire a lot. Chris Christie reportedly getting in and he’s going to announce reportedly in New Hampshire a few days from now. Governor DeSantis is in Iowa, but he’s going to be coming to New Hampshire very soon. So you very much have a front row seat as the governor of that state to a lot of the presidential politics. You see what’s catching on with voters, what’s not. That has to inform at least a little bit of a sway one way or another for you, doesn’t it?

Chris Sununu: No, without a doubt. Look, I think the one of the things that separates me apart from some of these other candidates, and they’re all really good people. I mean, they’re all friends of mine. They’re all really, really good people. Is that I did not start kind of down this path six or seven months ago with the idea of, hey, I might I might think about running for president. That was not my mission at all. It kind of evolved into that. I think people kind of you know, I maybe I speak a little differently. I’m a little more candid. I just have a different approach that’s gotten some those folks excited. And so, you know, folks have come to me and said, hey, you should really think about this. So I am it’s a it’s an honor that folks would look at New Hampshire. They see the model we’ve created here. It’s terrific. I mean, our economy is just crushing it. We’re the fastest growing state in the Northeast with the strongest economy, yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda, all these great statistics. So people see that model. They know it’s a little different. They know I’m a little different. And so I do kind of be fair to that process. Said, well, yeah, I’ll absolutely explore this. But, you know, and I said, I’d give it six months. I’d really give it six months to figure out what it’s like to do this on the road is the money. There is a path there and all those things have really lined up, but I got to make sure I want to do it. I got to make sure it’s, you know, I’m still a governor. I’m still I’m sitting in the governor’s office right now. I’m still 24 seven on this job. So we’re not going to do anything that puts New Hampshire at risk or anything like that because we’ve got this great model. And to your point, I got I do have a front row seat and not just a front row seat to watch, but to really participate and make sure we’re calling out candidates when they’re being phony. We’re calling out candidates when they’re not being frank about things. We’re calling out candidates that might be trying to get on a stage just so they’ll be considered for a vice presidential seat. That drives me frickin crazy. I think those guys should be right off that stage and just kind of calling that out. And maybe in a way, my voice is it better served in the party just kind of being kind of on the national media and kind of having that that front row voice? Or is it better served as a candidate on the stage? That’s kind of what we’re trying to figure out. What’s the sacrifice? It’s a huge sacrifice to do it. I mean, you’re sure you got to make the commitment and say, look, I’m going to be gone for my family, 179 out of the next hundred 80 days because I’m not doing anything half assed. I’m going to put 120% into it if we decide to go or no go. So it’s a big decision for everyone but the opportunities there. And, you know, if anything, that’s just that’s really exciting.

Guy Benson: We had you on this show multiple times while you were being courted, pressed, prodded to run for Senate in your state. And of course, that was a seat that I thought was winnable. You thought was winnable. The nominee was not electable ultimately by the Republicans. And the Democrats held that seat. I think you would have won that seat had you thrown your hat into the ring. But you didn’t want to be a senator. You made that very clear. You didn’t want it. Your family didn’t want it. This sounds different. Obviously, a chief executive is very different than being one of 100 in the Senate. But also the idea of moving to Washington and all of that. You seem to have very little taste for that. Not long ago. Different nature of a job, clearly. But does your family think differently about this? How are they feeling about this process over these last, what, five and a half months?

Chris Sununu: Well, I’d say this. So, you know, we’ve always you know, we love our privacy. We’re from New Hampshire. Everyone does. But there is a real path to get this country fixed. It is. And it’s not broken per se. I think we just have a lot of ego in D.C. that gets in the way from getting stuff done. And at the end of the day, what’s the point of getting elected if you’re not getting stuff done? So they’ve seen the success we’ve had here. Everybody wants Washington to be different, to have a different attitude. I mean, the town has an attitude problem more than anything else. If you want to get to the heart of it. But good leadership can change that. And they’ve seen what we’ve been able to do in New Hampshire. They appreciate what it means for this country. And so in that respect, they’re very supportive. And it’s so different than being a senator. I mean, my goodness, as a governor or a president, you’re on 24 seven. The buck stops here. You got to make executive level decisions. It’s so different than than the House or the Senate where maybe you get something done maybe once a week or maybe you’re just on vacation. I mean, really, I mean, I’m yeah, everyone knows what a cynic I am of the of the of Washington in terms of the legislative process. But I also believe and I’ve seen it here in New Hampshire, you know, good leadership. This is something that I think people forget good leadership can get stuff done no matter what hand they’re dealt. You give me Democrats, I’m going to get a conservative agenda done. I’ve done it before. You give me Republicans. I’m not going to complain. I didn’t get the right Republicans. I could always get something done. So good leadership can always be effective no matter what the situation is. And that’s exactly what this country needs, because we don’t know the makeup of the House and Senate over the next two or four years. So you better bring in somebody that can get stuff done one way or the other. And there’s a few of us out there, governors especially. But I think that’s the opportunity that I think my family sees bring in and. A benefit. It means not just for New Hampshire, but now really for the whole country. So that’s exactly what we’re looking at.

Guy Benson: You made the point about a wide field or a wider field helping Trump and the winnowing being important. And the point you made was it’s not about who gets in. It’s about who gets out and when. Is that something obviously, you if you were going to get in, you wouldn’t jump in, planning to lose. You would get in because you think you had a path to win if you or anyone else, let’s put it that way, is in the race doing everything they can to the best of his or her ability, but there’s just no traction. Are you saying that you or are you counseling others at that point? That would be the moment to get out. I just want to tease out your thoughts on that a bit more.

Chris Sununu: Absolutely. And not only am I telling that to other candidates and I’ve said it to them all. I’m telling that to their donors. I’m you know, a lot of folks will stay in a political race longer than they should because, you know, donors have you know, they’ve raised millions of dollars and they feel obligated to the donors. But the donor class has to stand up and say, hey, I supported you. You’re just causing problems now. It’s not working. You got to get out. And so every everybody on the team, I get the last people that will tell you to get out are your own staff, right? You’re the political consultants that make all this money and all that kind of stuff. So the discipline is really from the candidates, from the from a lot of the bigger donors to say, yeah, we support you, but it’s not happening. And for the good of this country, for a good a party, really, you got we got to clear the field. We gave it our best shot. That can only be one winner. So let’s figuring that out sooner than later is critically important. And, you know, one of the things I think of is, can I be a more effective on the stage doing that or kind of outside the stage, outside the field. And that’s something that will work. But it’s going to be a critically important issue that we talked about in 16, but no one committed to it has to happen in 24.

Guy Benson: One more 24 Related question for you then. I’ve got a couple other news of the day items. You are probably at least paying some attention to this battle happening right now between the people who are in first and second place in the party, at least right now. Donald Trump way ahead in the polls. He’s the front runner. And then in second place is Governor DeSantis from Florida, who’s now really hitting the campaign trail hard, having just announced last week Trump, who’s throwing everything but the kitchen sink at DeSantis and has been for months. He is really sticking with this line that New York and Andrew Cuomo handled COVID better than Florida and DeSantis. He’s doubling and tripling down on that. DeSantis now firing back. Andrew Cuomo coming in and praising Trump, saying he’s right. New York was better. This blue state lockdown model was better and more responsible. I know you’re not in either of those camps, but there are some broader sort of policy issues at play in that dispute. What do you make of it?

Chris Sununu: It’s bull****. Oh, sorry. Am I not allowed to say that, But hopefully.

Chris Sununu: No. That that that alone should tell you what you’re getting with Donald Trump. But Donald Trump is siding with of all people. Andrew Cuomo for his own for this bizarre political attempt to, you know, discredit Governor DeSantis. And so it’s I mean, let’s just take a step back from that and go, what are we doing? That’s the guy leading the Republican ticket, the guy who’s praising Andrew Cuomo after it’s completely throwing him under the bus. I think New York handled the COVID pandemic terribly horribly. And that’s not just an outside opinion. That’s it’s a fellow governor that was on the phone with Cuomo and every other governor and the president and vice president almost every day for a while, you know, trying to. But there are states that handled it well and states that didn’t. Florida did a great job in New Hampshire, did a great job. Texas did well. I mean, a lot of states handled it really, really well. And to say to try to put New York above that is just simply nonsense. I mean, and it’s really a discredit and a disservice to all the other red states that really handled this the right way. Florida being one of them, of course. And it says a lot about Donald Trump. And that’s what folks have to take on this. Donald Trump is not about the Republican Party. He’s not about a strong ticket. He’s is he’s not about that or he’s about he’s about the D the D and Donald. That’s what comes first with him. And now he’s put Andrew Cuomo over other Republican interests. That’s telling. That’s absolutely telling to me.

Guy Benson: All right. Shifting gears with Governor Chris Sununu to a couple different topics as soon as we come back on The Guy Benson Show in the swamp. Not the swamp Guy Benson.

Guy Benson: New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu still with us here on The Guy Benson Show, Happy hour. All right. Two more things very quickly. Number one, the debt ceiling fight in D.C., I’m sure is the epitome of stuff that you hate about Washington. One of the reasons you’re probably glad you’re not a U.S. Senator, although I would much rather have you than Maggie. A different question. Water under the bridge. What do you say to people who look at that and say, well, 2 seconds ago, Governor Sununu said Washington isn’t broken. This really looks like Washington is broken. How would you handle that type of issue, let’s say, if you were president, differently than what we’ve seen now for years and years under presidents of both parties?

Chris Sununu: Well, a deal is getting done. So I give Kevin McCarthy, I mean, a heck of a lot of credit. He made the first move. It was a strong move. He got Biden to capitulating, give in. I love this gas line stuff that they’re getting. So maybe it’s not all the economic benefits and the spending cuts a lot of us would like to see, but we’re not going to get everything we want to see. Guys, I mean, we don’t we don’t control the Senate, right? We don’t have the presidency. We’re not going to get everything we want. But he got something. And I give him credit. I think Tom Massie is doing a great job. He’s holding the line, making sure that there’s a path to get this done. There are a lot of folks behind the scenes really, you know, making it work. But if anyone’s like, boy, we didn’t get all the spending cuts we wanted, that would have been beyond a miracle. Like that just wasn’t going to happen. But we got something and they had to capitulate on something. So a deal had to be made for the greater good of the country. I think it’s a sign that things aren’t broken, that that, you know, look, the founding fathers designed the system so that getting anything done in Washington was really hard. Right. That’s pure checks and balances. And that’s a that’s different than almost anywhere else in the world, by the way. Right. We have a bicameral legislature. Do people realize that’s a very rare thing on the planet? We don’t have a prime minister elected by the legislature. We have an independent executive. That’s a very rare thing in the planet and very strategically designed. So the federal government had to really, really work hard to come together to get stuff done. It gets me.

Guy Benson: It’s some gridlock by design. That’s absolutely true. And that’s an important counterpoint in this whole conversation. I want to ask you about your appearance recently on The View, which is a real lion’s den for conservatives. We’re out of time in one word, Governor. How was your time on The View?

Chris Sununu: Successful a pathway for other Republicans to be successful? I showed the path. I hope everyone goes on and wins the debate. Wins the.

Guy Benson: Find the YouTube clip and watch it, I guess, is the idea there. Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican, our guest on The Guy Benson Show. Governor, we so appreciate it. We’ll talk soon.

Chris Sununu: All right. Thanks, brother. Be good.