Trump hints he'd back longtime critic's bid to flip Dem Senate seat in 2026: 'I hope he runs'

Trump now says that if Sununu runs for the Senate in 2026 for the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, his former antagonist would have his full support.

Trump, when asked by reporters about Sununu as he flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night aboard Air Force One, revealed that the two politicians met recently at the White House.

"I told him - He came to my office, came to the Oval Office, and [I] met with Chris Sununu, and I support him fully. I hope he runs," Trump said. "He's been very nice to me over the last year or so, but no, I hope he runs. I think he'll win that seat."

Sununu supported Trump during the 2016 general election and again when Trump unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020. The then-governor had a strong working relationship with the Trump White House, including close ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump occasionally returned fire at Sununu, calling him a "spoiled brat" and a "nasty guy," among other things.

However, after Trump clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, Sununu said he would vote for his party's presidential nominee.

Earlier this year, Sununu said in a Fox News Digital interview that "Donald Trump is the head of the party, and he's the voice of the Republican Party, and I got to say, I think he's doing a pretty darn good job in the first couple months."

Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor, touted that "I have no doubt I can win."

The former governor's comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he would not seek to run for the Senate in 2026.

Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan, but on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation's capital. 

Additionally, he heavily criticized the Senate. "They debate and talk and nothing gets done," he said at the time.

Sununu, who left office in January with very positive approval and favorable ratings, is seen by national Republicans as the best candidate to win the seat. However, he is not the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.

Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump's first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation's capital.

Earlier this year, Brown met with top Trump administration political officials at the White House, sources told Fox News.

When asked about the president's comments regarding Sununu, Brown told Fox News in a statement that "President Trump is the leader of the party, and he has earned the right to endorse whoever he supports. There is no path to a Republican nomination running against President Trump-backed candidates."

In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination in New Hampshire, four-term Rep. Chris Pappas formally launched his campaign last week. 

Using clips of a listening tour he made through all ten of New Hampshire's counties last month as he ramped up toward running for the Senate, Pappas said voters feel like "the system's rigged."

Pappas emphasized, "I do get angry, because when you're talking about public service, you should be focused on how you can help people, how you can make people's lives better."

Pappas may not have the Democratic Senate primary in New Hampshire all to himself.

Sources close to Rep. Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire's other House member, said last month that the first-term representative is considering a Senate run.