Conservative gov insists GOP is still a ‘big tent’ with ‘room for criticism’ of Trump

Although conservative New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu isn’t a full-fledged Never Trumper, he was highly critical of Donald Trump during the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Sununu passionately campaigned for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, making it clear that he considered Haley a much better candidate. And he once commented that Trump was “too dumb to be a threat to democracy.”But when Haley exited the primary and Trump became the presumptive nominee, Sununu endorsed him — although it wasn’t a very enthusiastic introduction.Many Never Trump conservatives believe that Trump has been disastrous for the Republican Party and the conservative movement, and unlike Sununu, they expressed their disdain by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. READ MORE: The terrifying reality of Trump’s second term: Your job, savings and freedom are at riskBut Sununu, in an interview with Politico published New Year’s Day 2025, argued that there’s still room for non-MAGA Republicans and traditional conservatives in the GOP.The Republican governor said of the president-elect, “Trump is extremely unique. There’s no ‘Trump lite’ or ‘Trump 2.0’ that can replace or replicate what he’s brought to the table, for better or for worse.” Sununu added that he still considers the GOP a “big tent” that includes everything from libertarians to religious social conservatives.Asked if “there’s still room within the Republican Party for criticism of Trump when warranted,” the New Hampshire governor told Politico, “Of course there is. Did (former Rep.) Matt Gaetz just get pushed right out of his nomination to be the U.S. attorney general? Yes.”READ MORE: ‘I didn’t change my mind’: Trump pressed on apparent flip-flopSununu continued, “Look, it’s never easy criticizing the president and the standard bearer of your party, and there’s always that kind of political honeymoon period that happens when you first get elected. But there are already signs of folks that are willing to push back and criticize and say no when they feel like they have to say no. And that should give the American people a big sigh of relief that it’s not the evil dictatorship that the liberal media was telling us it was going to be.”Some traditional non-MAGA conservatives are hoping Sununu will run for president in 2028, but the governor said he plans to “enter the private sector and make some money.”Sununu told Politico, “I don’t rule anything out, but there’s no story there. It’s literally zero on my list in terms of thinking about anything. I can’t see myself running in 2028. That would be, holy cow, that would be a real change of my plans. I don’t see any path to that actually happening. I’m excited to go back to the private sector.”READ MORE: ‘Terrible situation’: Conservative congressman laments chaos plaguing GOP House majorityPolitico’s full interview with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is available at this link.

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