(NewsNation) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is standing by his endorsement of Nikki Haley, calling criticism from former President Donald Trump a mere ploy to “stir up his base” ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary.
Trump called Sununu a “spoiled brat” during a rally Saturday in Durham, New Hampshire, days after Sununu announced he was backing Haley in the Republican presidential primary race.
Responding to Trump’s criticism, Sununu said Monday on “CUOMO” that the former president is worried about Haley’s recent rise in the polls.
“When he goes to that level of rhetoric, he’s really talking to that select group of extremists because he’s afraid he’s gonna start losing the margins,” Sununu said of Trump’s comments about immigrants “poisoning” the country. “It’s all done out of fear.”
Recent polling shows Haley gaining ground on Trump, the presumed front-runner, in New Hampshire. The poll from CBS News/YouGov shows the former South Carolina governor with 29% support among voters in the state, up 18 points from September.
Nationally, Haley is polling around 10%, according to Decision Desk HQ/The Hill polling averages.
In New Hampshire, Haley is working to court voters with no party affiliation, which Sununu believes will come out in record numbers for the primary.
“Some of them are hardcore conservative, some are more moderate, they kind of run the spectrum, but she caters to them all, and the vast majority don’t want to see Trump there,” Sununu said. “So, if you have a passion to say, “Hey, let’s move on as conservatives, let’s bring in that next generation of leadership,” you’re gonna come out and participate in that process. Everyone’s really galvanizing around Nikki over the next five weeks.”
Sununu endorsed Haley last week when he appeared with her during a campaign town hall in Manchester, where he said she has shown she understands the values Republicans associate with the state’s “Live Free or Die” motto, including low taxes, limited government and local control.
Joining Sununu, Haley called it “about as rock solid as an endorsement as we could hope for.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.