New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) again pressed former President Trump to cool down his rhetoric and focus on the election at hand, suggesting Friday that Trump will “pivot a little bit” from personal attacks if polling continues to shift away from him.
Still, the governor warned that not focusing more his messaging could cost the former president the election.
“Just don’t miss the opportunity. I think that’s the message,” Sununu told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Friday evening in an interview. “And if he does that, it’s the block and tackling of running a campaign. If he does that, he wins.”
“This is his campaign to win, at this point,” the governor added. “If he doesn’t, it’s on him and it’s on his shoulders, like don’t come crying that the election was stolen from you when we told you how to win and you gave the thing away.”
Sununu, who endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the race before she suspended her campaign, said he believes Trump will pivot because he doesn’t think the GOP nominee would throw away the election. He pointed to Trump’s recent praise of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) as a sign he is worried he could lose the Peach State to Vice President Harris.
“These past couple days, he started throwing out an olive branch, and saying nice things about Governor Kemp, someone he’s traditionally had some personal conflict with,” he said. “So, there are signs that he’s turning this thing more professional.”
Sununu added that he believes Harris is polling at the highest she ever will be, just weeks after she announced her campaign and the Democratic convention wrapped up, where she became the official nominee.
His comments came on the same day independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and withdrew from the ballot in the battleground states. Kennedy then endorsed Trump and joined the former president at his rally in Arizona Friday evening.
The New Hampshire governor said he believes Trump will see benefits from receiving Kennedy’s backing.
“You’re going to see that pendulum start to swing, and a lot of opportunity come to the Republicans, in terms of those independent voters, those swing voters,” he said.
As Harris gains ground in critical swing states, Sununu said the former president sees the polling where he is slipping and thinks it will force him into action.
“So, I think as these poll numbers, in the swing states, especially show, that can get him to change his traditional habits, pivot a little bit, hopefully pivot enough to win the … swing states,” he said. “And you’re already seeing signs of it.”
Despite a push from Republicans to focus more on policy and less insults, Trump has doubled down on his personal attacks. During his rally Friday, he pointed to recent comments former President Obama and Michelle Obama made as reason to stay the course.
“I call them up, my geniuses, they get paid a fortune. Actually, not that much. I say, ‘They’re knocking the hell out of me, and you say I shouldn’t get personal. I have to get personal. They get personal,’” Trump said in Glendale, Ariz. “So, they’re allowed to get personal with me, but I’m not allowed to get personal to them?”