New Hamphire Gov. Chris Sununu said in an interview Thursday he will back former president Donald Trump's third White House bid.

The move is considered an about-face for the outspoken Trump critic who campaigned with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was Trump's last remaining challenger for the nomination before dropping out earlier this week, in the lead-up to New Hampshire’s primary in January.

What You Need To Know

  • New Hamphire Gov. Chris Sununu said in an interview Thursday he will back former president Donald Trump's third White House bid

  • Sununu made the announcement in an interview with a New Hampshire radio station on Thursday

  • An outspoken critic of the former president who once called Trump a "loser," Sununu had campaigned with former GOP candidate Nikki Haley

  • Sununu said his endorsement of Trump is an alternative to Biden

“I’m going to support the ticket. I’m going to support Donald Trump, but my focus is definitely going to be here in the state,” Sununu said during an interview with the New Hampshire radio station, WMUR, on Thursday.

Sununu said he isn’t walking back his criticism of the former president he once called a "loser."

“Look, I don’t take any of that back, to be sure. But again, understand this is an alternative. I mean the alternative is Biden,” he said. “Folks are seeing a lack of management, a lack of understanding what’s happening with immigration, a lack of fiscal responsibility.”

Immigration and the economy are the top issues for Republican voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey from late February.

Sununu’s announcement comes two days after Haley dropped out of the GOP race, after winning only Vermont and Washington, D.C. in recent primaries.

Sununu, 49, is in his fourth term as New Hampshire’s governor. He has served since 2017 and is not seeking reelection. His father John Sununu was also governor of the state before serving as chief of staff for President George H.W. Bush.

The Democratic National Committee was quick to seize on Sununu’s endorsement.

“Chris Sununu said it himself: Donald Trump is a crazy [a******] and a soon-to-be four-time loser who can’t beat President Biden,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd said in a statement Friday. “Sununu called Trump a coward and the definition of extremism who can barely keep a cogent thought. And above all else, Sununu was right about one thing: Trump will lead to Republican losses up and down the ballot in November.”