Trump takes swipe at another popular GOP governor

Former President Donald Trump took aim Tuesday at another popular Republican governor during a political rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday, calling Chris Sununu a “selfish, selfish guy” who “never helped” him.

Trump slammed Sununu after a rally attendee referred to the governor as “corrupt” for not having built a full-service Veterans Affairs hospital in the Granite State.

“No longer will New Hampshire be the only state in America without a full-service VA facility. You’ll have it, and you’ll have it done quickly,” the 77-year-old said in a speech announcing his Veterans for Trump coalition in Windham, near the Massachusetts border.

“You’re going to have a brand new VA hospital,” Trump said. “Beautiful. State of the art. Top of the line. The only state that doesn’t have one.”

“Because of our corrupt governor,” an audience member shouted.

“I was waiting for that,” Trump responded with a chuckle. “You know, I was going to say that, but then I thought I’d be politically correct.”

“Selfish, selfish guy,” the 45th president went on. “He ran for president and he got two points. He ran without running. You know he didn’t want to announce.”

“We could win this state so easy [sic] if we had help from the governor,” Trump told the audience. “But I’m glad you said it because this way I could say I was so nice up in New Hampshire.”

Sununu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former president similarly hit Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in July for appearing to show support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over him in the 2024 GOP primary.

“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!” he posted on Truth Social, using a version of his “DeSanctimonious” nickname for the Florida governor.

A majority of Iowans approve of Reynolds as governor, according to recent polls.

A survey of New Hampshire Republican primary voters released this week also found Sununu has a higher favorability rating among that cohort than Trump (60% to 57%).

The Granite State governor has often criticized Trump’s influence on the Republican Party, saying earlier this year that the former president should not be nominated in 2024.

“He can’t win in November of ’24,” Sununu told CNN in June. “The math has shown Donald Trump has no chance of winning in November of ’24. He wouldn’t even win Georgia. If you’re a Republican that can’t win Georgia in November of ’24, you have no shot, and he’s proven that.”

New Hampshire lawmakers from both parties have long sought a full-service veterans hospital for their state. There is a VA medical center in Manchester, the state’s largest city, but it was downsized in 2000 for financial reasons, leaving the nearest full-service hospitals in Boston and White River Junction, Vt.

Earlier this year, Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan asked President Biden’s VA Secretary Denis McDonough to prioritize construction of the facility.

More than 87,000 veterans live in the Granite State, nearly half of whom are older than 65, according to US Census data.

In his speech, Trump also promised to “make stopping veteran suicide a top priority” of his second term in office and to “ban the Department of Veterans Affairs for wasting a single cent to fund transgender surgeries or sex change procedures.”

“Those precious taxpayer dollars should be going to care for our veterans in need,” he said, “not to refund radical gender experiments for the communist left.”