Democrats accentuate ties between Sununu and Trump

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(l to r) Mary Heath, Ray Buckley and Manny Espitia. Credit/Andrew Sylvia

MANCHESTER, N.H. – New Hampshire Democratic Party leaders gathered at Veterans’ Park on Thursday to criticize New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and his connections with President Donald Trump.

Joined by State Representatives Mary Heath (D-Manchester Ward 7) and Manny Espitia (D-Nashua Ward 4), New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley called the press conference in advance of Trump’s visit to New Hampshire on Friday.

Buckley said that Trump was not welcome in New Hampshire due to his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of other issues. Buckley added Sununu’s mix of support and silence during points toward Trump were telling on how closely the two are aligned.

“No matter what Trump does, Chris Sununu will stick by him, even with (Trump) insulted our state and called us a drug-infested den,” said Buckley. “Sununu still supports Trump, even after (Trump) bragged about sexually assaulting women.”

Buckley also criticized Sununu’s recent announcement that he will not attend Trump’s appearance in New Hampshire on Friday, stating that if Sununu believes Trump’s event is not safe enough for himself, it is not safe enough for New Hampshire.

Heath criticism of Sununu focused on educational issues, stating that if Sununu’s support of charter school vouchers had been successful, it would have cost the Manchester School District $48 million in funding.

Espitia honed in on a study that showed a rise in hate crimes after Trump rallies, expressing concern that the same thing could happen in New Hampshire.

Unlike Trump, Sununu has seen broad support for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, earning an 86 percent approval rating in April that included support from half of Democrats. Buckley says that that level of support was comparable to Sununu’s numbers in 2018, a race he won by just over seven percentage points and Buckley says provided valuable insights for the 2020 Democratic nominee to be determined next month.

Sununu Campaign spokesperson Ben Vihstadt accused the Democrats of a double standard, citing Sununu’s mask mandate for events with more than 100 people as well as first amendment concerns.

“Governor Sununu issued a common-sense mask mandate for any event over 100 people, and now that the Democrats cannot complain about that, they want to stop the President from exercising his right to free speech by holding a rally,” said Vihstadt.”The Governor would not stop Joe Biden or anyone running for office from holding a rally in New Hampshire providing that all state guidelines are met.”

Buckley indicated that a Joe Biden event prior to election day would be unlikely, but if one did occur he said it would not be a large rally and he would use social distancing when meeting with voters.

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.