New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said on Tuesday that former President Trump needs better advisers if he plans to announce a 2024 bid for president before Christmas.
“Anyone who thinks it’s a smart idea to announce an election, a potential presidential bid, after the election but before Christmas, it’s just the worst time you could possibly do it,” Sununu told reporters after casting his ballot on Tuesday morning.
“My sense is the former president needs better advisers if that’s really what his strategy’s going to be,” the New Hampshire governor added.
Trump has strongly hinted that he plans to announce his campaign on Nov. 15, exactly one week after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago,” the former president told a cheering crowd at an Ohio rally on Monday night.
He brought up the “big announcement” again after casting his ballot on Tuesday morning, telling reporters, “I think Tuesday will be a very exciting day for a lot of people, and I look forward to seeing you at Mar-a-Lago.”
Sununu also brushed off Trump’s potential announcement when he appeared on a CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, calling it a “terrible idea” to announce before Christmas.
“One thing I can say for America is we’re all going to be really happy one way or the other that the election is over come Tuesday,” Sununu said. “And everyone’s going to want to take a breath and reengage with their families and deal with some really serious issues. And then politics really gets back into the mix of things in early ‘23.”
He added on Tuesday that he doesn’t think Trump’s potential announcement will cause other Republicans to stay out of the race.
“I don’t think anyone really cares, and he does not clear the field,” Sununu said. “Everyone that wants to run is still going to run.”