新罕布什尔州州长克里斯·苏努努周日重申了他在2024年大选中对唐纳德·特朗普的支持，同时支持部分但并非全部人他过去的批评前总统的照片。
在美国广播公司新闻节目《本周》的采访中，共和党人苏努努支持前南卡罗莱纳州州长妮基·黑利在共和党初选中，主持人乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯多次就他此前攻击前总统的言论向他施压。
苏努努表示，他支持2021年1月6日对特朗普的谴责，但他表示，如果特朗普在四起刑事案件中的一起被定罪，他不再认为他应该退出竞选。特朗普否认所有不当行为。
在2023年6月接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时，几名共和党人正在争夺特朗普的初选提名，苏努努表示，如果特朗普被判犯有他面临的任何指控，他应该退出总统竞选。
在那次采访时，川普刚刚因涉嫌在任职期间不当处理机密文件而被起诉，并已在纽约州封口费的一起案件中被起诉，该案件将于周一开庭审理。
自那以来，特朗普又被起诉两次-一次是与1月6日有关的联邦案件，另一次是佐治亚州的案件，原因是他在试图推翻2020年败选结果时的所谓行为。
周日，斯特凡诺普洛斯在“本周”节目中反复提问后，苏努努调整了他的回答，与去年的回答相比。
“此前，你曾表示这些指控是严重的，如果特朗普被定罪，他应该退出竞选。你还相信吗?”斯特凡诺普洛斯问道。
起初，苏努努表示，特朗普的法律问题正是他在共和党初选期间支持海利时挑战的“混乱”。
当斯特凡诺普洛斯再次跟进时，苏努努表示，他不再认为特朗普应该在定罪后结束竞选。
“不，不，不——他会在被提名后退出吗?当然不是。苏努努说:“你知道这是完全不可能的。
“归根结底，他们(人们)希望共和党内的文化发生变化。如果我们必须让特朗普担任旗手——而选民们认为这是他们想要的，而不是我想要的...如果他将成为这方面的旗手，如果有必要的话，我们会接受。这就是美国对文化变革的渴望。
然而，苏努努也表示，他“100%”仍然同意特朗普几天来对他措辞严厉的批评2021年1月6日美国国会大厦遇袭后。当时，苏努努说，“特朗普总统的言论和行动助长了叛乱。”
苏努努周日表示:“他的行为绝对促成了这一点。”“这是毫无疑问的。我讨厌2020年的选举否定主义。没人想在2024年谈论这个话题。我认为所有这些都非常糟糕。”
但他表示，支持继续谎称自己赢得2020年大选的特朗普不仅仅是特朗普的事情，他认为许多美国人都认为联邦政府需要“变革”。
“华盛顿的自由派精英希望站在勤劳的美国家庭的肩膀上，他们建设了这个国家，捍卫了这个国家，并告诉他们如何生活。他们很生气。他们很不安。这是人们希望看到的文化变化，”州长说。
“人们在1月6日之前感到不安，”他补充说。“他们对选举被否决感到不安。他们完全有权利——我也是——但归根结底，他们需要文化变革，才能让美国重回正轨。”
斯特凡诺普洛斯追问:“请解释一下，鉴于你认为他参与了叛乱，你怎么能说我们应该让他回到椭圆形办公室?”
“对我来说，这不仅仅是关于他;这是为了维持一个共和党政府、共和党秘书和共和党规则，这些规则优先考虑各州的权利、个人权利和父母的权利，”苏努努说。
“我们将有一个亲商的经济。我们不会有一种已经渗透到整个美国的取消文化。这与特朗普和我无关，”苏努努坚称。
苏努努列举了特朗普在共和党人中持续、广泛的支持以及早期民调显示他有时在大选中击败总统乔·拜登的情况，但苏努努夸大了民调显示特朗普的支持率通常有多高由538跟踪.
“他们没有疯。他们不是大保守派。他们不是极端分子。他们希望文化改变，”苏努努说。
“我不是在谈论民意调查，”斯特凡诺普洛斯强调说。“我在问你一个非常简单的问题。...你认为一个促成叛乱的总统应该再次担任总统吗?”
苏努努回答:“乔治，51%的美国人都这么认为。”
他接着说，“这是关于理解通货膨胀正在摧毁家庭。众所周知，这个边界问题不是德州的问题。这是50个州的问题，对吧，必须得到控制。这是一种普通美国人已经厌倦的精英主义。”
与此同时，苏努努认为特朗普的未决审判已经成为“普通美国人”的真人秀。
尽管苏努努此前表示，他认为纽约的案件是政治性的(检察官否认这一点)，但他去年表示，对特朗普的机密文件指控“显然非常严重”和“自作自受”，并同样称针对特朗普的联邦选举案件“极其严重”。
斯特凡诺普洛斯提出了一个答案:“你愿意支持一个被判犯有联邦罪行的人担任总统吗?”
苏努努说:“不——我认为任何美国人都对这些感到不安，他们当然不喜欢这些。”
尽管民调也显示许多选民会对特朗普被判重罪感到失望，但苏努努强调了他的观点:“现在这是关于选举的。”
“这是关于政治。这就是人们对此的判断，”他说。“最终决定将在11月做出，看看人们的立场。”
Chris Sununu now says Trump shouldn't drop out if convicted but stands by his past criticism
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Sunday reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election while standing by some -- but not all -- ofhis past criticismof the former president.
In an interview on ABC News' "This Week," Sununu, a Republican whoendorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over Trumpin the GOP primary, was repeatedly pressed by anchor George Stephanopoulos about his previous statements attacking the former president.
Sununu said he stood by a 2021 denunciation of Trump over Jan. 6 but said he no longer believes that Trump should leave the race if he is convicted in one of his four criminal cases. Trump denies all wrongdoing.
In a June 2023 CNN interview, when several Republicans were vying for the primary nomination against Trump, Sununu said that Trump should drop out of the presidential race if convicted of any of the charges he faces.
At the time of that interview, Trump had just been indicted over his alleged mishandling of classified documents while out of office and had already been indicted in a New York hush money case that is going to trial on Monday.
Since then, Trump has been indicted two more times -- in a federal case related to Jan. 6 and a Georgia case over his alleged behavior while trying to overturn his 2020 defeat.
After repeated questioning by Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on Sunday, Sununu adjusted his response compared to his answer last year.
"Previously, you've said these charges are serious and Trump should drop out of the race if he's convicted. Do you still believe that?" Stephanopoulos asked.
At first, Sununu said that Trump's legal issues were the very "chaos" that he had challenged during the GOP primary when he backed Haley.
When Stephanopoulos followed up again, Sununu said he no longer thinks Trump should end his campaign upon a conviction.
"No, no, no -- he's going to drop out after being the nominee? Of course, not. You know that's not to be expected at all," Sununu said.
"At the end of the day, they [people] want that culture change within the Republican Party. And if we have to have Trump as the standard-bearer -- and the voters decided that's what they wanted, not what I wanted ... If he's going to be the standard-bearer of that, we'll take it if we have to. That's how badly America wants a culture change," he said.
However, Sununu also said he "100%" still agrees with sharply worded criticism of Trump that he made daysafter the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. At the time, Sununu said, "President Trump's rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection."
"His actions absolutely contributed to that," Sununu said on Sunday. "There's no question about that. I hate the election denialism of 2020. Nobody wants to be talking about that in 2024. I think all of that was absolutely terrible."
But he said that backing Trump, who continues to falsely claim he won the 2020 election, was about more than just Trump and argued that many Americans agree that "change" is needed in the federal government.
"Liberal elites in Washington want to stand on the shoulders of hardworking American families that built this country, defended this country and tell them how to live their lives. They're angry. They're upset. That's the culture change that people want to see," the governor said.
"People are upset by Jan. 6," he added. "They're upset by the election denial. They have every right to be -- I am -- but at the end of the day, they need a culture change to get America back on track."
Stephanopoulos pressed: "Please explain, given the fact that you believe he contributed to an insurrection, how you can say we should have him back in the Oval Office?"
"For me, it's not solely about him; it's about maintaining a Republican administration, Republican secretaries and Republican rules that prioritize states' rights, individual rights and parents' rights," Sununu said.
"We're going to have a pro-business economy. We're not going to have a cancel culture that has really infiltrated all across America. It's not about Trump with me," Sununu insisted.
Sununu cited Trump's continued, widespread support among Republicans and early polling that shows him sometimes beating President Joe Biden in the general election, though Sununu exaggerated how high Trump's numbers usually are, according to pollstracked by 538.
"They're not crazy. They're not MAGA conservatives. They're not extremists. They want culture change," Sununu said.
"I'm not talking about polls," Stephanopoulos pressed. "I'm asking you a very simple question. ... You believe that a president who contributed to an insurrection should be president again?"
Sununu answered: "As does 51% of America, George."
He went on to say that "it's about understanding inflation is crushing families. It's understanding that this border issue is not a Texas issue. It's a 50-state issue, right, that has to be brought under control. It's about that type of elitism that the average American is just sick and tired of."
Meanwhile, Sununu contended that Trump's pending trials have become akin to reality TV for "the average American."
While he's previously said he believes the New York case is political (which prosecutors deny), Sununu said last year that the classified documents charges against Trump were "obviously very severe" and "self-inflicted" and similarly called the federal election case against Trump "extremely severe."
Stephanopoulos pushed for an answer: "You're comfortable with the idea of supporting someone who's convicted of a federal crime as president?"
"No -- I don't think any American is comfortable with any of this, they don't like any of this, of course," Sununu said.
Despite polling also showing that many voters would be turned off by Trump being convicted of a felony, Sununu emphasized his view that "right now this is about an election."
"This is about politics. That's what people are judging this on," he said. "And the ultimate decision will be in November to see where people stand."
