Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
- New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Sunday told NBC News that he will support the 2024 nominee.
- But Sununu, a potential presidential contender, predicted Donald Trump won't be the 2024 GOP nominee.
- RNC leadership said GOP candidates must sign a pledge to support the nominee to participate in debates.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he plans to support the Republican presidential nominee in the 2024 election, but he doesn't believe it's going to be former President Donald Trump.
"I'm a lifelong Republican. I'm going to support the Republican nominee," Sununu said on "Meet the Press" on NBC News. "As far as former President Trump, I think he's going to run – obviously he's in the race. He's not going to be the nominee. That's just not going to happen."
The embattled former president – who announced his 2024 candidacy rather early in November of 2022 –faces investigations in Georgia, New York, and two from the federal government.
Republican candidates like former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley have launched their own bids for the GOP presidential nomination, and several others are expected to announce soon.
"I'm really confident that whoever comes out of the Republican nomination process is going to lead this country and will be able to deliver a win in '24, and I'll back them," Sununu, a potential presidential contender, said on Sunday.
With Trump, Sununu said there are "very few people that are on the fence, whether they're with him or not with him."
"I think he just has his lane, and then there's everyone else, which is a vast majority of the party that's looking for an alternative," Sununu said. "I think the former President is trying to find a path to be back that that leading voice of the party. I think a lot of us are, you know, that potentially may get in the race want to have something to say about the direction of that conversation."
The governor added: "We're moving on. I just don't believe the Republican party is going to say that the best leadership for America tomorrow is yesterday's leadership. That doesn't make any sense. That is not in our DNA as Americans. It's kind of the antithesis of the American spirit to settle for yesterday's news. We want the next generation, the next big idea, and that's what we're going to deliver."
RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that in order to participate in the primary debates, GOP candidates will be required to sign a loyalty pledge promising to support the winning nominee, CNN previously reported.
In response to that news, a Trump campaign spokesperson told CNN: "President Trump will support the Republican nominee because it will be him."