Sununu says Trump should be on the debate stage, can’t ‘play the victim card’

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said Thursday that former President Trump should get on the 2024 GOP presidential debate stages and stressed that, if he does, he can’t “play the victim card.”

“You cannot stand in front of America and say, ‘I’m a fighter, but I’m going to wimp out and not get on a debate stage and engage in the fight, engage in the … debate that has to happen on issues and what you’re about.’ … You can’t wimp out now,” Sununu told CBS News’s Robert Costa on “America Decides.”

Trump, who launched his 2024 bid last November, has suggested he could skip Republican primary debates. But, Sununu, who is considering entering the race himself, argued that the early debate stages will be key for candidates and said he thinks Trump is ultimately “going to be there.”

“I think this is a lot of talk, myself, and the message is just really clear, you know: Cowboy up, get in the saddle, show us what you got,” the New Hampshire governor said. “Because, if you wanna be the leader of this country, and the leader of the free world, you’ve got to show that you can still bring your fastball.”

When asked by Costa if he thinks Trump still has “his political fastball,” Sununu said, “No.”

“No, no, no. That much is clear,” he responded. “You don’t see the energy. You don’t see the fire. You see him playing a victim.”

“It’s kind of the, ‘Woe is me, poor me, that DA is beating up on me in New York,'” the governor said, referencing the criminal charges the former president now faces in New York after an investigation led by the Manhattan district attorney.

“And I guess … I actually sympathize with him on that issue, but that does not translate into why we should vote for you again, right? So, he plays that victim card,” Sununu continued.

“He’s trying to have it both ways, and eventually he’s going to have to kind of pick a path here,” he added. “You can’t have a spectrum of phoniness. If you’re going to be a phony, you’ve got to pick your lane. And so he’s going to have to try to figure that out.”

Sununu said he’ll make a decision on whether to enter the race by late June “at the latest.”

But while he appeared to knock the former president’s suggestion that he might not head to the debate stage, Sununu praised plans for Trump to join an on-air town hall with CNN next week, an event that’s drawn criticism from other outlets.

“I think it’s a great move. I think it’s a great move on his part and CNN’s part,” he said. “He’s understanding that you don’t just go … to the typical conservative media outlets like a Fox or something like that. You’ve got to talk to voters everywhere, wherever they’re getting their information.”