President Donald Trump talks to members of the press aboard Air Force One during a flight to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on April 6, 2025. ( REUTERS/Kent Nishimura )
Trump, when asked by reporters about Sununu as he flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night aboard Air Force One, revealed that the two politicians met recently at the White House.
"I told him — He came to my office, came to the Oval Office, and [I] met with Chris Sununu, and I support him fully. I hope he runs," Trump said. "He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so, but no, I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat."
Sununu supported Trump during the 2016 general election and again when Trump unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020. The then-governor had a strong working relationship with the Trump White House, including close ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence.
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However, Sununu pushed back against Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged" and "stolen." He also started stating in early 2021 that the GOP was larger than any one person, which was perceived as a swipe at the then-former president.
Sununu amped up his criticism of the former president during numerous national interviews on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, repeatedly arguing that Trump had too much political baggage to win back the White House. Additionally, Sununu began mulling a possible 2024 White House run of his own, which he ultimately decided against.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital on his final full day in office, on Jan. 8, 2025 at the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
The former governor’s comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he would not seek to run for the Senate in 2026.
Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan, but on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation's capital.
Additionally, he heavily criticized the Senate. "They debate and talk and nothing gets done," he said at the time.
Sununu, who left office in January with very positive approval and favorable ratings, is seen by national Republicans as the best candidate to win the seat. However, he is not the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.
Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who later narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run.
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Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., announces his bid to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a fellow Democrat, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Manchester, New Hampshire. ( AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
"You think about the Social Security office that's going to be closed in Littleton, drastic cuts to Medicaid, all in the name of giving big tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk," he argued, as he pointed to Trump's top donor and the world's richest person, who is leading the administration's controversial downsizing of the federal government workforce.
Pappas emphasized, "I do get angry, because when you're talking about public service, you should be focused on how you can help people, how you can make people's lives better."
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Pappas may not have the Democratic Senate primary in New Hampshire all to himself.
Sources close to Rep. Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire's other House member, said last month that the first-term representative is considering a Senate run.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-hints-hed-back-longtime-critics-bid-flip-dem-senate-seat-2026-i-hope-he-runs