I have a real thing for Chris Sununu. I’ve written about him over and over (and over) and again. Why? Because Trumpist authoritarianism can only succeed when elites like Sununu give him cover.
Sununu isn’t a Trumpist. He doesn’t believe in MAGA populism. And he has no political future in the Republican party—he’s as anathema to MAGA as he would be if he were a Democrat. And yet, Sununu has been willing to campaign for Trump. To lie for Trump. To humiliate himself for Trump.
Why? Is he a dishonest scoundrel? A coward? Or a fool?
That’s what we’re going to talk about today. Because Sununu is part of a large class of Republican elites who have been not just willing, but eager, to play dice with liberal democracy.
Let’s go.
1. 51 Percent?
Chris Sununu sat down with George Stephanopoulos yesterday and had an interesting explanation for why he’s a staunch supporter of Donald Trump these days. It’s an amazing interview: Stephnopoulos started out by asking Sununu a simple question—will you support Trump even if he’s convicted?—and then, when Sununu tried to dodge it, Stephanopoulos spent the entire rest of the interview pinning him down on this one matter.
Nine full minutes. It’s excruciating. And it’s what every broadcast journalist should be willing to do.
You can read the full transcript here, but I’m going to give you an abridged version that cuts a lot of Sununu running in circles:
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