New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signaled in an interview Friday that age stopped being an issue in the 2024 election after President Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race.
“The age issue has played out,” Sununu told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas. “Biden lost that question.”
“The issues of this campaign are absolutely going to come down to inflation, the border, the fact that people can’t pay their credit card bills,” he added.
His comments come after Biden, 81, ended his reelection bid last month and endorsed Vice President Harris, after a large number of Democrats urged him to step aside following a poor debate performance. While on stage, the president had a raspy voice, lacked energy and seemed to lose his train of thought, sparking concern about his ability to not only beat former President Trump, but also serve another four years in office if reelected in November.
Questions around whether Trump, 78, is still too old to serve another four years have swirled — especially since Harris, 59, has risen to the top of the Democratic ticket.
Harris’s momentum has been on an upward trend, boasting key endorsements and record fundraising hauls since joining the race less than a month ago. Trump has appeared irked by her rise in the polls, however, as she has largely eliminated the lead he had over Biden.
In an address from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Thursday, Trump tried to refocus the spotlight on himself. During the press conference, the former president jabbed Harris for her lack of media interviews and sought to paint the vice president, and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), as “radicals.”
Republicans, and even some Democrats, have also suggested that the enthusiasm around the Democratic president nominee is just a “honeymoon period,” and will likely slow down. The New Hampshire governor agreed with the notion, claiming the fire would likely fizzle by Labor Day.
Sununu, who endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the race before she suspended her campaign and later backed Trump, said once Harris’s momentum stalls, all eyes will be on her policy — which he said is “not good.”
“If she’s not leading by four or five points in all the swing states by the end of August, she’s in trouble because then, it gets back to issues,” he said Friday in the interview.
He also highlighted comments made by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) about Democrats having a policy problem, adding that they can’t win on merely a “never Trump” platform.
“’At least we’re not Trump, so vote for us’: That’s not a reason to really elect a leader of your country,” Sununu added.
The Granite State governor also recently pressed his GOP colleagues in an op-ed to cut down on “trash talk,” saying the attacks were distracting and would do little to shore up support for Republicans in November.
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