Gov. Sununu clashes with Jen Psaki over claims of collusion between Trump and Russia: 'It is nonsense'
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, argued the former president's indictment in New York was "wrong" and clearly for "political reasons."
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who has claimed that the GOP is "moving on as a party" from Donald Trump, defended the former president in a heated exchange with MSNBC host Jen Psaki.
"They are beating up on Trump for political reasons, everybody sees that," Sununu told Psaki on Monday.
"What happened with the Russian collusion that never existed effectively exonerated the guy. So, he can play a victim card. You’ve all created a situation where — what kind of planet are we on where Donald Trump has become the victim? That’s really what it is," Sununu said.
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New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who has claimed that the GOP is "moving on as a party" from Trump, defended the former president in a heated exchange with MSNBC host Jen Psaki. (Screenshot / MSNBC)
After Psaki predicted that former President Donald Trump might face another "indictment," Sununu argued that legal actions against Trump only strengthen his popularity in the country.
"You are creating the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’ syndrome. What happened in New York was wrong. It really was," the governor added, referencing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump in March.
Psaki also repeated the claim that Russia intervened to help elect Trump as president, in an allegation that was debunked by Special Counsel John Durham’s report. Durham found that "the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" during the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Psaki also repeated the claim that Russia intervened to help elect Trump as president, in an allegation that was debunked by Special Counsel John Durham’s report. Durham found that "the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" during the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. (Associated Press)
"I have to stop you there," she told Sununu. "Because we know very clearly that Putin and the Kremlin did intervene in our election in order to try to help Donald Trump back in 2016. So we know that is true," Psaki repeated.
"Yeah, I will not relitigate the Russian collusion nonsense that went on for two years," Sununu told Psaki.
"You do not need to relitigate it. It’s been relitigated by lawyers and investigations," Psaki said.
"It is nonsense," Sununu shot back.
"You are creating the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’ syndrome. What happened in New York was wrong. It really was," the governor added, referencing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump in March. (Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images/Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sununu again indicted the media, saying that most Americans believe that the legal attacks on Trump are politically motivated, a suspicion that he said the former president is taking full advantage of.
"Nobody buys that any attack on Trump isn’t anything but political. You have created, everybody has created this scenario, and he is playing it to the fullest. He is playing the violin strings better than anybody imagined, which is why his poll numbers, miraculously, are actually going up," Sununu said.
A recent Fox News poll found that Trump maintains his lead with 53% support among GOP primary voters nationally, with Ron DeSantis in second at 20%.
The New Hampshire governor, a vocal critic of Trump, concluded by claiming that every Republican except Trump could beat President Joe Biden in 2024.
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"I think almost anybody would beat Joe Biden right now in ‘24 except Donald Trump," he said.
Fox News' Dana Blanton and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.