New Hampshire Governor Throws Cold Water On Trump’s General Election Prospects

Scott Morefield | June 11, 2023 3:30 PM

Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu put a damper on the notion that former President Donald Trump could win the presidential general election against a Democrat in November 2024 during a Sunday morning interview on CBS's "Face The Nation."

"I think that last segment you had was really telling," Sununo told guest anchor John Dickerson. "It’s just another example that he could win the nomination but cannot, mathematically cannot win in November of '24, which is why the Republican Party needs to look to another candidate. And they've got a lot of great options before them."

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu: Trump "could win the nomination, but he cannot mathematically win in November 2024."

"The Republican Party needs to look to another candidate." pic.twitter.com/gJNqyJjfiY
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) June 11, 2023

Sununu, who last week announced that he would not run for president himself, was purportedly referring to an earlier "Face The Nation" segment in which the network's elections & surveys director, Anthony Salvanto, discussed the juxtaposition between the overall population and GOP primary voters when it comes to assessing whether Trump keeping classified documents posed a national security risk.

We asked : A security risk if per allegations Trump had docs w nat sec & nuclear info? -- GOP primary voters don't think so -- big difference -- rest of public overwhelmingly says yes -- pic.twitter.com/wCB0NjAQ9f
— Anthony Salvanto (@SalvantoCBS) June 11, 2023

The New Hampshire governor's statements on Trump's electability comes in the wake of news that the former president has been indicted on felony charges related to his retention of classified documents. Asked for his reaction, he called the charges "self-inflicted."

"Look, if half of what they say they can prove is provable, then he’s got a real problem on his hands, and it’s self-inflicted," Sununu said. "Let’s remember that. He had every chance in the world to hand all those files and documents back. He did just the opposite. He bragged about keeping them. So this is very self-inflicted. I guess we’ll find out of the 37 or whatever charges there are, how many he’s potentially found guilty on. So we’ll see where it goes and whether it's disqualifying or not."

Trump has long enjoyed large GOP primary polling leads and could very well win the right to face off against President Joe Biden or whoever the Democrats put out there, but many, including this writer, questioned his viability in a general election long before the seriousness of this latest indictment became evident.