‘Wow’: Critics Stunned By Chris Sununu’s ‘Shameful’ Defense Of Trump-Hitler Report

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) drew fierce backlash for laughing off a report that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, when he was president, praised brutal Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler to his then-White House chief of staff, John Kelly.
“We’ve heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump,” Sununu chuckled to CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Wednesday.
“It’s kind of par for the course” and “kind of baked into the vote [for Trump] at this point,” he continued.
Sununu then pivoted to talking about the cost of living.
Chris Sununu on CNN on whether Trump praising Hitler causes him to reconsider his support for him: “No … we’ve heard a lot of extreme things from Donald Trump. With a guy like that, it’s kinda baked into the vote.” pic.twitter.com/zjvq1Mg9MO
Bolduan pressed Sununu on Trump’s comments and the governor acknowledged that most Americans wouldn’t like them — but said people were willing to hold their noses and vote for Trump, like he was going to, if it led to a culture change in Washington.
Sununu made similar comments to Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto in a separate interview, and faced similar pushback.
Critics accused Sununu ― who has flip-flopped with his opinion on Trump, at one point calling him “crazy” but now fully backing the Republican 2024 ticket ― of normalizing Trump’s fascist rhetoric.
Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University and the author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I see … so even Hitler does not move the needle and the extremism is now completely normalized. That kind of acceptance and cowardice is exactly how you get to Fascist governance.”
Others agreed:
I see…so even Hitler does not move the needle and the extremism is now completely normallzed. That kind of acceptance and cowardice is exactly how you get to Fascist governance. https://t.co/taAmZrZPFc
There is nothing embarrassing in saying “this new information changes my opinion.”Nothing shameful in saying “I was wrong, but I’ve learned more.”Hearing praise for Adolf Hitler should be one of those times. https://t.co/FjWBUTWurU
In case you’re wondering how Adolf Hitler was normalized. https://t.co/6U1NRhKWBN
“We already knew he admired Hitler when we made the decision to vote for him in the first place” is quite the … defense? https://t.co/AsOqfxvOAf
The spectacle of obstensibly normal, maintstream Republican politicians rationalizing their continued support for Donald Trump — in this case because open assertions and affections for fascism are no more or less unjustifiable than his other blurts and rants — is some of the… https://t.co/d84ndlZ0K4
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 @ChrisSununu. https://t.co/q5Tl6wwIK1
Wow. Sununu obviously hasn’t studied what German supporters of Hitler said in the 1930s. https://t.co/5vYTtTB45w
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?
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.
Shameful. https://t.co/5FBufRHOVc
If you watch closely you can literally see the remaining remnants of Chris Sununu’s soul leave his body https://t.co/HPnAS6lBy4
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Crass opportunists like Sununu know Trump will be a disaster, but somehow believe that they will be spared from the damage Trump will inflict on the nation – and then they will return as honored Wise Men to rebuild the GOP. https://t.co/9LLPDnYWS2