New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu left CNN’s Poppy Harlow stunned when he predicted that neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden would be on the general election ballot in November 2024.
Asked about Wednesday’s collapse of the Hunter Biden plea deal designed to keep the president’s son out of jail, Sununu quipped, “Any time a politician or politician’s family has the word ‘deal’ next to their names, that’s a problem.”
Then he added, “But I don’t think Joe Biden is the [Democratic] nominee in 2024. This is just one drop of the many drops in the bucket.”
“You don’t? Who?” Harlow asked.
“I think he’s going to go through the primary process,” Sununu said of Biden. “I think he’s going to collect all the delegates. And then I think you’re going to see a wild convention where he and his people start steering the delegates somewhere else. I really believe that.”
Sununu offered a list of reasons he thinks Biden won’t be on the final Democratic ticket.
“I think it’s a health thing. I think it’s the Hunter Biden thing. They’re doing everything to make sure that he doesn’t have to testify and have to sit there in court and open all this other stuff. The whole book gets opened up if that process happens,” Sununu said.
Polls consistently show most Americans don’t believe Biden is physically up to the task of the presidency, including a NHJournal poll last year that found more than 60 percent of Granite State independents didn’t believe Biden was up to the job.
“I don’t know whether it’s a grand scheme. I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but I just think that’s the way it’s playing out. I don’t think Trump or Biden are on that ticket.”
“Wow — wow,” Harlow responded.
Sununu, who spent months considering his own presidential bid, has made it clear he still plans to play a major role in the 2024 Republican primary process. And he has made it just as clear he does not want the winner of that primary to be Trump.
“The math has shown Donald Trump has no chance of winning in November of ’24. He wouldn’t even win Georgia. If you’re a Republican that can’t win Georgia of November ’24, you have no shot, and he’s proven that” Sununu said when he announced he was not running for president. “Not only has he proven it, but the candidates he gets behind in a good conservative state like Georgia lose the race. His messaging doesn’t translate,” he added.
Many GOP insiders believe Sununu’s endorsement could be one most valuable in the 2024 cycle, and they point to the latest Morning Consult poll showing Sununu is the fourth most popular governor in the country. And Sununu has defeated four New Hampshire Democratic gubernatorial candidates in a row by an average of 14 points.
Sununu’s critics note he has endorsed many losers in New Hampshire GOP primaries, including last year’s U.S. Senate and Second Congressional District races.
Sununu is headed to Des Moines to attend the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner. He told Harlow he looked forward to seeing all the candidates at the same venue.
“What I’ve told all the candidates — my two cents of advice — is don’t focus on the policy. You’ve got to bring some charisma; you’ve got to bring some personality. You’ve got to show leadership at a different level,” Sununu said. He urged the candidates to “get people excited about what might be possible as opposed to just being another candidate who isn’t Donald Trump. That’s the opportunity they have.”
