Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) do not think former President Donald Trump could defeat President Joe Biden in the race for the White House in 2024.
Christie said “I don’t think so,” when asked about the hypothetical race to ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week.” Sununu echoed Christie earlier on the show, saying the former president would be too “extreme.”
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“No. Trump is going to be seen as a very extreme candidate. The country is going to push back against it,” Sununu said. “He could get the nomination, but he can’t get it done.”
Comments from both men, who are considered to be moderate Republicans within their party, follow Americans’ unenthusiasm for a rematch between Trump and Biden. Over 62% would be dissatisfied with a Biden win and 56% dissatisfied with Trump winning.
“What I’ve tried to espouse to Republicans is look, we want to vote for the most conservative candidate that can win in November and get stuff done in 2025,” Sununu said.
When asked if he was considering a run for president, he said he’s “definitely thinking about it”
“At the end of the day, you’re gonna have a lot of Republicans that get in that race,” Sununu said. “They’re all really good people, they’re really good candidates: Nikki Haley, and Mike Pompeo, and Gov. DeSantis, a lot of folks that are gonna get in.”
He added that for the next election cycle, Republicans need to think about “where we’re going to go, both as a party and make sure we’re going there as a country.”
So far, Trump is the only Republican that has officially declared he is running for president in 2024. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to announce in the upcoming weeks, with more expected to announce within the year.
Christie said he thinks other Republican candidates may be hesitant to declare their 2024 presidential bids as they fear being at the center of attacks from Trump.
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One such is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not made any indication that he will run amid wide speculation, but has not hesitated to either brush off or shoot back at Trump for any comments he’s made over the last months.
“Who wants to be the first in the pool with Donald Trump?” Christie said. “When he has no one else to shoot at and his whole life is about shooting at people.”
