Keller @ Large: New Hampshire GOP primary ‘all about Trump, stupid’

BOSTON – When it comes to the New Hampshire Republican primary race, there is an overwhelming theme.

“Right now, this is not about the incumbent. No one is talking about Joe Biden. It’s all about [former president Donald] Trump. If there’s one campaign theme of 2024, it’s ‘It’s all about Trump, stupid,’” Boston Globe political reporter James Pindell told WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller, referencing the 1992 James Carville phrase “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Trump is currently leading polls in New Hampshire, with Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis in a distant second. Pindell said it’s shaping up to be “Trump, DeSantis and everyone else.”

Keller asked Pindell what the mood currently is for GOP voters in the Granite State.

“I think their mood is aggrieved by the national politics so, ‘Tell me why Trump is not the best person to fight my grievance?’ But half of them don’t like Trump, and that’s the point,” he said.

The pair also discussed New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who long teased a potential 2024 White House run before announcing that he will not be entering the race.

“His calculation was ‘How do I raise my profile to them be the vice presidential pick or a cabinet pick?’” Pindell said. “I don’t know where he got the idea. It’s possible he got it from his father, who endorsed George H.W. Bush and then became the White House Chief of Staff. He knows the pattern. At this point, the way you get attention is to think about running for president, making a lot of friends. But he never raised any money, even when he’s really popular as a governor in a very small state. He got all the upside. He is now on the list for vice president and for cabinet or for White House Chief of Staff. He was about to hit all the downsides, like ‘Do I even qualify for the first debate?’”

Keller @ Large: Part 2