Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire, stated on Sunday that he “fully expects” former President Donald Trump to be on the ballot in his state in 2024, despite the fact that some of Trump’s detractors are considering legal action to prevent him from being able to run for office.
Conservative and liberal Trump critics are pushing a campaign to exploit a little-known clause in the 14th Amendment to prevent Trump from possibly winning the presidency again. Some are preparing to contest Trump’s eligibility for the ballot on similar grounds in states across the nation, including New Hampshire. The clause bars those who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.
Chuck Todd, the host of NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” questioned Sununu about whether the debate over applying the 14th Amendment might have an effect on whether Trump will be on the ballot during the state’s first and second primaries in the 2024 Republican primary process.
Do you anticipate having to see this case be litigated before Donald Trump appears on the New Hampshire ballot?
Sununu ruled out the prospect, saying, “No, Donald Trump’s gonna — if Donald Trump follows the rules like everyone else in and, you know, signs up like everybody else — that’s the beauty of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary process.”
I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be on that ballot because it’s a very open and simple procedure for many people to participate in, Sununu said.
If someone wants to try to suit over the 14th Amendment in the state, the governor declared, “It’s not really a New Hampshire issue.”
They’re arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, so it would apply to all 50 states, he added. Therefore, I do not anticipate the previous president to be on our ballots.
Meanwhile, Trump is trying to profit from potential 14th Amendment lawsuits, accusing “traitorous ‘Republicans'” in an email to supporters on Sunday morning.
When asked if he was more worried about four more years of President Joe Biden or four more years of Donald Trump, Sununu, who thought about running for president but ultimately decided against it, responded: “To be honest, what bothers me more is that if we just slip into having both of them back on the ticket.
“America does not want this. It doesn’t imply that our main system is flawed, he insisted. “It implies that more of us need to get involved in the system to ensure that our voices—and those of the 70% of Americans who constantly want to look ahead—are heard. All you’re doing with Biden and Trump is going backward while relitigating a lot of drama.
Todd questioned Sununu about why other GOP presidential candidates haven’t aggressively attacked the former president the way he and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp have, despite Sununu earlier warning his party’s members that the party will lose “up and down the ballot” in 2024 if Trump is nominated.
Sununu first praised Kemp for being “spot on” this week when he rejected requests from a number of far-right state lawmakers over a special legislative session to possibly impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. This came in the wake of the felony charges being brought against Trump and 18 co-defendants as part of Willis’s broad investigation into their attempts to rig the 2020 election.
Sununu continued by saying that when criticizing Trump, “you don’t have to make it personal.”
“I’m not saying that about other candidates. It’s a pretty peculiar dynamic, to be sure, when you’re running for president against the outgoing president,” he remarked. The secret to dealing with Trump—and not simply dealing with him—is to treat him as you see him, without taking things personally. Regardless of party, you act in ways that are obviously in the interests of the people you represent.