Sununu blasts RNC Chair McDaniel's 'nonsense' call to rally behind Trump after New Hampshire

"That's not fair to the Republicans in the 48 other states that have a vote, that have a say. You guys don’t pick the winner. Ronna doesn't. I sure as heck don't. The voters do," he went on.

By Ben Whedon

Published: January 24, 2024 4:34pm

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Wednesday rejected Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel's call for the GOP to rally behind former President Donald Trump in the wake of the Granite State primary, contending that it was too early to call the primary and that more voters deserved the chance to give their input on the party nominee.

Former President Donald Trump claimed victory in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, defeating former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley by roughly 11 points. Despite the loss, the Sununu-endorsed Haley has vowed to move forward with her campaign. Trump previously won the Iowa Caucus last week and commands a significant lead at the national level.

During a Fox News appearance, Sununu insisted that Iowa and New Hampshire were not sufficient metrics to gauge party sentiment and that Haley was gaining momentum.

"With all due respect to Ronna McDaniel, to say that we're just going to call it after two states ... That's nonsense," Sununu said. "For these elitists to say, 'Oh we're just going to stop right now as Nikki is surging. We're just going to stop and call it a day for the incumbent.' That's not the process."

"That's not fair to the Republicans in the 48 other states that have a vote, that have a say. You guys don’t pick the winner. Ronna doesn't. I sure as heck don't. The voters do," he went on.

McDaniel, for her part, said in the wake of the primary that "[w]e need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump. And we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden."

"I don't see it for Nikki Haley. I think she's run a great campaign, but I do think there is a message that's coming out from the voters, which is very clear," she also said.

🚨RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel calls on Nikki Haley to drop out of the 2024 Presidential race after losing to Trump in New Hampshire:

“I don’t see it for Nikki Haley.” pic.twitter.com/1BzMs3ryrM

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 24, 2024

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.