🔴 Governor Chris Sununu continues making national media appearances as he ponders a White House run

🔴 His comment about being a "pro-choice Republican" drew criticism from New Hampshire Dems

🔴 Donald Trump will not win the nomination, according to Sununu


When the topic of guns and a potential ban on assault rifles came up as a topic during Governor Chris Sununu's appearance on ABC's The View Thursday, one of the politically left-leaning hosts came to his defense when the audience booed his answer.

Sunny Hostin asked Sununu about reinstating a federal ban on assault weapons that was in effect between 1994 and 1997, which she said cut violence by 70%.

"If the argument is that we have more gun bans and gun laws, Chicago would be the safest place in the country," Sununu said. Hostin said that states like Illinois are getting guns from states like New Hampshire, which have less restrictive laws. Sununu turned the argument around and said the increase in mass shootings comes from a lack of mental health support.

He held his ground when Goldberg and Joy Bahar asked what was going to do.

"I'm not banning any guns. I'm going to provide access to mental health. We're going to get at the core of the issue," Sununu said to a chorus of boos from the audience.

"No no no no no no booing. No," Goldberg said. "We need to talk to people to find out what they're thinking and if they're thing in the right way. He's not going to be perfect. None of them are. But at least give people the opportunity to say what's going on."

Run for the White House

Sununu did not make any news during his appearance about his own run for the White House, and joked that Elon Musk fired "one too many" IT guys, causing Ron DeSantis' glitch-filled announcement on Twitter. But he didn't blame Florida's governor for the problem.

"Ron's job was to make the speech, deliver the points. And I think he did a pretty good job," Sununu said.

The governor said that Donald Trump playing the victim card is helping him hold onto support. He still doesn't think that the "orange haired elephant in the room" will get the nomination.

Trump's support of bad candidates in the fall election was blamed by Sununu for costing Republicans several offices around the country.

"I think Republicans have a really awesome product. We're just really bad at selling it," Sununu said.

"Pro-choice Republican"

Sununu's comment that he is a "pro-choice Republican" drew immediate criticism from New Hampshire Democrats and Planned Parenthood.

“In another attempt to downplay his MAGA record, Chris Sununu falsely claimed to be ‘pro choice’ on The View this morning. In reality, Sununu signed New Hampshire’s first modern abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest — and has repeatedly bragged about it…,” NHDP spokesperson Aida Ross said in an email.

“Granite Staters are looking at Sununu - and we can see right through him. Chris Sununu is clearly a career politician with a history of flip flopping; from family planning funding to abortion rights, he wants to have his cake and eat it too," Kayla Montgomery, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, said in a statement. "Over the past decade, Sununu has defunded Planned Parenthood, vetoed legislation to remove financial barriers to abortion care, and signed New Hampshire’s first abortion ban in modern history, which included a mandatory ultrasound provision. These are not the actions of a “pro-choice” person, let alone a “pro-choice” elected official."

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH

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