Newsmax host clashes with Sununu over Haley support: ‘She got smoked’

Newsmax host Eric Bolling and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) clashed on air Tuesday over the governor's support for Republican presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley.

inside interviewMr. Bolling asked Mr. Sununu if he had changed his mind about supporting the former U.N. ambassador, and Mr. Sununu said he had not.

“Look, Nikki Haley is within single digits of beating Donald Trump, and she's kind of hitting the reset button on the whole process,” Sununu said in an interview featured by Mediate. “It happens here in New Hampshire. We never look back, we always move forward. She's galvanized support from Trump supporters and DeSantis supporters, and everyone is buying in. So the momentum is very real here in New Hampshire.”

Decision Desk Headquarters predicts that Ms. Bolling will respond Monday's Iowa caucuses that Ms. Haley is “smoked,” and that Ms. Haley will come in third place.

“She never expected to win the Iowa caucuses,” Sununu said. “Everyone knew Trump was going to get away with it.”

Sununu then sought to highlight the differences between Haley's campaign strategy in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and in New Hampshire. Next, Boling highlighted the differences between the Republican Party before and after former President Trump's leadership.

“Dear old establishment Republicans, [former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R)], you, my friend, Christy is my friend, Nikki Haley, your time has passed,'' Bowling said. “Do you want to move forward? Look at what Trump is doing, he's assembling groups that Republicans have never been able to win over before.”

Sununu responded, “I'm tired of losing,” referring to the party's recent electoral struggles under President Trump's leadership.

Shortly after, the conversation began to develop as Boling and Sununu started talking to each other, at one point Sununu remarking that the Newsmax anchor sounded “stupid” when talking about Haley's chances in the race.

“When you were in grammar school, I worked in politics,” Boling said in a response to the New Hampshire governor.

Haley currently trails Trump by 9.1 percentage points in the Decision Desk/The Hills New Hampshire Republican primary polling averages of 34% and 43.1%, respectively.