'Portrait in cowardice': GOP governor raked over coals after 'bending the knee' to Trump

08 March 2024

Even though he was an early backer of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu has now officially endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Sununu's endorsement — first reported by the Boston Globe — comes despite his constant criticisms of the ex-president, once calling him "f---ing crazy" in 2022 and an "a-----e" just last month. The Granite State governor was also a frequent target of the former president on his Truth Social, who called Sununu a "RINO [Republican In Name Only]" who was "polling at zero," and even suggested that his constituents "no longer like or respect him."

The four-term New Hampshire governor was seen as one of the leading anti-Trump Republican figures among the GOP until his endorsement announcement on Friday. After his 180 on the ex-president he once derided as a "loser" who "doesn't galvanize the party or the country together," numerous journalists and commentators took to social media to lambast Sununu.

CNN reporter Edward Isaac-Dovere tweeted the chronological progression of Sununu's attitude toward Trump. He noted that in April of 2022 he called the 45th president of the United States "f---ing crazy" in April 2022 He also noted that Sununu said in January 2024: "If you go with the Trump path, obviously, it just gets — it's like throwing gasoline on a firework. It's just going to get so much worse. And in February he expressed optimism about the GOP after Trump, saying "a-----es come and go." He then concluded with a line that read, "Today: Endorses Trump."

Vanity Fair special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast opined that Sununu's about-face on Trump was "so embarrassing." Huffpost journalist S.V. Dáte tweeted that Trump "is an adjudicated rapist who attempted a violent coup to remain in power despite having lost his reelection" in response to Sununu's endorsement. Progressive army veteran and podcast host Fred Wellman wasn't surprised, tweeting "Hahahahahaha. We knew it."

"What a f----ing coward. These people are all so pathetic. Go beg for forgiveness now @ChrisSununu you loser," Wellman wrote, tagging Sununu's official account.

Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh lambasted the New Hampshire governor in three words: "Portrait in cowardice."

Democrats also piled on the GOP governor. The official X/Twitter account for the Democratic Governors' Association tweeted a meme of a clown putting on makeup, mocking him for his abrupt reversal by noting he went from calling Trump "crazy" and a "coward" and a "future four-time loser" to endorsing him. Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison likened the endorsement to Sununu "bending the knee" to the former president. And former Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-New York) said of the Republican Party, "it's a cult."

Despite the mockery, Sununu is simply doing what he always said he would do. After Nikki Haley dropped out following a disappointing Super Tuesday performance, Trump became the de facto Republican nominee. And in January, Sununu reiterated that as a Republican, he would ultimately cast his ballot for whomever the Republican candidate would be, regardless of whether it was Haley or Trump. He added that he would still vote for Trump even if the former president was convicted of a felony in any of his four upcoming criminal trials.

"I think most of us are all going to support the Republican nominee – there’s no question," Sununu told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. "I am going to support the Republican nominee, absolutely."

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