Chris Sununu Faces Backlash After Laughing Off Trump’s Praise for Nazi Generals

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) ignited outrage on Wednesday after dismissively chuckling at reports that former President Donald Trump praised powerful Nazi generals to his White House chief of staff. The backlash came after Sununu, who had previously supported Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, revealed on CNN that he plans to vote for Trump, despite the troubling comments from John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff.

Kelly’s on-the-record revelations include Trump’s admiration for Adolf Hitler’s generals, reportedly expressing a desire for similarly loyal military leaders. When asked about the disturbing comments, Sununu brushed off the seriousness of the issue with a laugh. “We’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump,” Sununu said, chuckling. “It’s kind of par for the course.”

Sununu went on to argue that independent voters wouldn’t be swayed by warnings of fascism—warnings that have come from an increasing number of Republicans and former Trump staffers. Instead, he suggested that voters would focus on economic policies when casting their ballots.

His response triggered an immediate and angry backlash from political figures, commentators, and scholars, many of whom criticized Sununu for downplaying the gravity of Trump’s remarks and for seeming to ignore the dangers of fascist rhetoric.

Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, expressed his disgust, saying, “Of all the lickspittles for Trump, of all those who we once thought had at least a trace element of fundamental human decency, Chris Sununu is at the bottom of the barrel.”

Never-Trump activist George Conway agreed, adding, “The problem, Norm, is that the ones who clearly know better turn out to be the worst—precisely because we know they know better.” Conservative commentator Sarah Longwell also weighed in, saying, “You know what would be great? If politicians stopped acting like pundits and started acting like the leaders they’re supposed to be. This is pathetic.”

Jay Bookman, a columnist for Georgia Recorder, was similarly appalled, writing, “I just heard Chris Sununu on CNN try to rationalize Trump’s fascism as unimportant and it’s disgusting. Just flat-out disgusting. How do these people look themselves in the mirror?”

Craig Silverman, a columnist for the Colorado Sun, added a sharp rebuke on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Here in swing state Georgia, most people still hate Nazis. A vote for Trump is a vote for America’s Hitler. Don’t ever be a Chris Sununu.”

Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols echoed the sentiments, pointing to Sununu’s previous critiques of Trump and the GOP’s direction. “Ah, yes, another of the Good Republicans who once warned the GOP to stop nominating kooks,” Nichols wrote, “and now is on board because one day Sununu will join Haley and Youngkin and recreate the party or something.”

Stanford University professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul chimed in as well, criticizing Sununu for his apparent lack of historical awareness. “Wow,” McFaul wrote, “Sununu obviously hasn’t studied what German supporters of Hitler said in the 1930s.”

The backlash underscored the frustration many feel as prominent Republicans like Sununu appear to downplay or ignore Trump’s increasingly controversial rhetoric, raising concerns about the direction of the GOP and its leadership.