Sununu on possible Trump arrest: ‘Democrats have misplayed this’

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Sunday said the possible imminent arrest of former President Trump in an investigation into alleged hush-money payments during the 2016 presidential election is building sympathy for the former president. 

“I think it’s building a lot of sympathy for the former president,” Sununu said of the possible arrest on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The governor said some Republicans he’d talked to who aren’t “big Trump supporters” expressed concern that the former president “was being attacked.” 

“I just think that not just the media, but really, a lot of the Democrats have misplayed this in terms of building sympathy for the former president and it does drastically change the paradigm as we go into the ‘24 election,” Sununu said.

Trump, who is again running for president in 2024, said in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday over alleged hush-money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election, and encouraged his supporters to protest. 

Sununu on Sunday stressed that this possible arrest isn’t connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and suggested that there are other matters that should take precedence.

“There’s a question about why they’re doing it, something seven years ago. It’s not a nothing, but it’s moving money and how he claimed money being moved between him and his lawyer. You know, there are other issues that really take precedence in terms of where this country needs to go, what we need to do to get stuff done, how we manage our budget, how we secure the border,” Sununu said. 

“There’s much more pressing issues of the day. It’s just unfortunate this has taken the headlines.”

Sununu has said he’s mulling over his own presidential bid for 2024, and though he didn’t confirm his campaign on Sunday, he said he’d “love to be in a debate if we actually go down that path.”