N.H. governor says Trump ‘absolutely contributed’ to Jan. 6. And he’s backing him this November. – The Boston Globe

But that answer left Stephanopoulos flummoxed.

“That doesn’t make any sense to me, Governor. I’m sorry,” the longtime anchor said. “You’re saying it’s not about Trump . . . He would be the president, and you’ve said he’s someone who’s contributed to an insurrection.”

“I understand it doesn’t make sense to you, George, but look at the polls,” replied Sununu who is in his fourth term as New Hampshire’s governor but is not seeking re-election in November.

Stephanopoulos pressed Sununu about his personal views of Trump and his past remarks condemning the former president’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump’s ongoing denial that he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

Less than a week after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the 2020 election results, Sununu said in a statement to WMUR that “it is clear that President Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection at the United States Capitol Building.”

Stephanopoulos asked Sununu, who supported Nikki Haley in the Republican primary until she ended her campaign in March but always said he would support the GOP’s presidential nominee, whether he stands by those remarks.

“His actions absolutely contributed to that, there’s no question about that,” Sununu said on Sunday. “I hate the election denialism of 2020. Nobody wants to be talking about that in 2024. I think all of that was absolutely terrible.”

Later in the interview, Stephanopoulos asked, “You believe that a president who contributed to an insurrection should be president again?”

“As does 51 percent of America, George,” Sununu said.

Stephanopoulos also asked about Trump’s ongoing legal troubles, particularly the New York hush money trial that is set to begin this week. Trump is also ensnared in three other criminal cases tied to his turbulent exit from office from four years ago, as he allegedly tried to cling to power by interfering in Georgia’s vote counting while mounting a national campaign to subvert President Joe Biden’s victory. He is also accused of mishandling classified documents that were discovered in boxes at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Stephanopoulos asked Sununu whether he believes Trump should drop out of the race if he is convicted of any of the charges he faces.

“Look, we fought hard in the primary, we got behind Nikki. This is the chaos that Nikki Haley and I and others warned about was going to follow Trump and that it’s just a complete distraction,” Sununu said, adding that he would rather see Republicans “talking about real issues” instead of “this stuff.”

Stephanopoulos repeated his question, asking again if Sununu believes Trump should drop out if he is convicted on any charges.

“He’s going to drop out after being the nominee? Of course not. That’s not to be expected at all,” Sununu said.

“I’m not saying there’s not real issues to bear there, of course there are,” he added. “But there’s clearly politics to bear in some of these cases, that is undeniable. The average American just thinks it’s more reality TV and prosecution of him at this point. He plays that victim card very, very well. His poll numbers only go up with this stuff.”

Sununu, who considered a presidential run himself but did not enter the race, said the support Trump has seen from Republicans in the polls indicates that “they want that culture change of the Republican Party.”

“And if we have to have Trump as the standard bearer, and the voters decided that’s what they wanted, not what I wanted, but what the voters or the Republican voters wanted, he’s gonna be the standard bearer that. We’ll take it if we have to, that’s how badly America wants a cultural change.”

As the interview wound down, Stephanopoulos again pushed Sununu about his own feelings regarding Trump, not those of the voters who support him.

“So, just to sum up, you would support him for president even if he is convicted in classified documents. You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection. You support him for president even though you believe he’s lying about the last election. You would support him for president even if he’s convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say, the answer to that is yes, correct?”

“Yeah, me and 51 percent of America,” Sununu replied.

Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.