Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said President Donald Trump is addressing longstanding problems in Washington and that some of his proposed cuts and executive orders may be part of a negotiating strategy.
“I think we can all agree Washington doesn’t work that efficiently and that it’s probably the worst-run government entity in the country,” Sununu said at an appearance in Filene Auditorium on April 17 attended by about 120 people. More than 300 had also watched the livestream as of Friday morning.
The Dartmouth Dialogues and Rockefeller Center event, part of the 100 Days Series where a diverse group of political speakers come to campus to discuss topics related to the second Trump administration, focused on federalism and state governance.
Early in the evening, Sununu said he wasn’t there to defend, apologize, or criticize Trump, though he also said, “I’ll probably do a little bit of all of that.” Instead, he explained that Trump was elected as a disruptor and is seeking a reset of the status quo in Washington.
In targeting universities over their federal funding, Sununu suggested that Trump was engaging in a form of negotiation, asking for policy changes as previous administrations have done.
Noting that Trump “doesn’t order a pizza without a negotiation,” Sununu believes that compromise agreements will eventually be reached, either through Congress or the courts.
Just because a school takes federal money doesn’t mean they’re beholden to the federal government, said Sununu, who as governor served as an ex officio trustee of Dartmouth. “But it’s OK when you’re giving a grant to someone to ask for certain standards.”
When asked about international students who have had their visas revoked, seemingly connected to Gaza protests, Sununu speculated that for some of them, there must be more going on that we don’t know about. While he supported peaceful protests, Sununu said having a student visa is a privilege.
“You’re not allowed to break the law in the name of social justice just because you disagree with something,” Sununu said.
He also praised Dartmouth, and President Sian Leah Beilock, in the way they handled protests over the war in Gaza.
“There’s a reason why the administration isn’t targeting Dartmouth, because Dartmouth managed itself really, really well,” Sununu said.
In addressing the Trump administration’s tariff strategy, Sununu called himself a “free market guy” but added that something needed to be done about trade with China. He suggested the 90-day pause on tariffs came after greater-than-expected market turmoil, and that the narrow window would force rapid negotiation with other countries.
“Hopefully we get a better balance on trade…but more importantly, we really box out the Chinese from abusing the system through other countries,” he said.
Sununu admitted 90 days is not a lot of time, and if negotiations don’t work out, markets could suffer more. It’s a risky strategy, he acknowledged, and one he gets asked about in New Hampshire, specifically about trade with neighboring Canada.
Most companies can withstand 90 days, Sununu said. “But beyond that, it’s going to get a little rough.”
Sununu supports one of the trade war’s goals, which is returning manufacturing to the U.S. Not everything needs to be made here, he said, but more cars, technology and batteries should be produced domestically.
“The world runs on batteries,” Sununu said. “Now, they all come from China. That’s a wicked, big problem, right? It’s a security issue.”
“These are great working-class jobs,” he added. “We have the mines. We have the processing technology. Let’s do it ourselves.”
But like in other policy arenas, while Sununu applauded the Trump administration for taking on long-standing problems and cutting the federal workforce, he was concerned by how it was going about it.
“I don’t have a fundamental problem with a lot of what they’re doing,” he said. “I have a huge problem with how it’s messaged, and some of the methods, the lack of empathy, a lot of the callousness, if you will.”
On a question about abortion, Sununu said that while he remained pro-choice, he didn’t mind that the Supreme Court returned control of the issue to the states. “I do believe in federalism very strongly,” he said.
Sununu also supported eliminating the Department of Education, saying that the money spent there added little value to local classrooms. Citizens benefit from state control of issues and funding, Sununu said, because local officials are more accessible, and they know what works for their state.
Not everything should be run by the states, Sununu said, pointing to the departments of Energy and Commerce as examples. “But there’s a lot of things in the federal government that should be deferred back to the states, and let the governors and the legislators and the mayors work with their citizens to get the best result,” he said.
Sununu, who declined to run for a fifth term as governor last year and returned to private life in January, dismissed the idea of running for president. Earlier this month, he announced he wouldn’t run for New Hampshire’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026, which has been held by retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat.
But the thing that he says keeps him up at night, and one he hopes the country will address, is the trillions of dollars in national debt coupled with concerns about Medicare costs and Social Security, which is projected to deplete its Trust Fund reserves within a decade. Without critical changes to these programs, he said, the U.S. could risk hyperinflation and serious financial pain.
Sununu closed on a hopeful note, reminding the audience that in New Hampshire, they’d soon have the opportunity to meet the next round of presidential hopefuls and ask them questions in person.
“Look, democracy is not at risk,” he said, pointing to the high number of people voting in the last election. And our institutions have remained strong, he added, even as they did through challenges such as the Civil War, 9/11 and a global pandemic.
“Be optimistic,” Sununu urged. “Believe the system can work.”
The talk was moderated by Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Dean Lacy; Alexander Barrow ’27, treasurer of the Dartmouth Conservatives; and Quinn Allred ’26, president of the Dartmouth Democrats.
After his talk, the two student moderators said they appreciated Sununu coming to campus. Allred expressed concern about how Sununu framed ending Roe vs. Wade as giving more freedom to states when so many people lost access to abortion.
Barrow was glad the former governor raised the issue of debt and Social Security potentially becoming insolvent.
“I think that’s important,” Barrow said. “On the national stage, not a lot of people are talking about it.”