If elected to the Senate, Scott Brown could bring Trump policies to New Hampshire

Politician Scott Brown’s second campaign for US Senate bid draws fire over Trump loyalty, support for tariffs, and cuts to veterans’ care

At a press conference today held by the New Hampshire Democratic Party in response to former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown’s campaign kickoff, state leaders and local residents painted a stark picture of what his allegiance to President Donald Trump, Wall Street, and far-right policies could mean for New Hampshire.

“Scott Brown clearly didn’t get the hint the first time he ran for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. “And now, just like a bad penny, he’s back, running to do the bidding of Donald Trump and big corporations.”

Buckley called Brown “a longtime Trump loyalist” who has publicly declared it “crystal clear” he supports Trump’s agenda, including trade wars, cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and attacks on abortion access. “Scott Brown is about as extreme and out of touch as you can get,” Buckley said.

Brown first ran for Senate in New Hampshire in 2014, moving to the state for the purpose of running. He secured the Republican nomination on September 9, 2014 before ultimately losing to incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen on November 4, 2014. Previously, he served as a Massachusetts state senator from 2010 to 2013, and he was the ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

State Representative David Paige, who represents Granite Staters in Carroll County, which has the highest concentration of seniors in New Hampshire, called out Brown for supporting the Trump administration’s efforts to gut Social Security. 

“Brown has stood by the Trump administration and dismissed Granite Staters’ concerns about the ongoing efforts to put Social Security on the chopping block, saying people ‘don’t want their Social Security; and they ‘don’t care about that.’ My neighbors and community leaders who work directly with our seniors would disagree with Scott Brown.”

Paige also highlighted Brown’s support of Trump’s tax bill, which would kick 36,000 Granite Staters off Medicaid, add $2.8 trillion to the national debt, and trigger a $490 billion automatic cut to Medicare over the next 10 years. 

Kathleen Kelley, whose husband’s family owns White Mountain Lumber in Berlin, warned that Trump’s tariffs—championed by Brown in the press and on social media—have wreaked havoc on supply chains and small businesses in the state.

“Trump’s trade wars have done more to damage our economy than any downturn in recent memory,” Kelley said. “When Scott Brown says Trump is right about tariffs despite the pain they cause, he’s not speaking for our businesses—he’s speaking as a politician desperate for Trump’s approval.”

Kelley emphasized that businesses like her husband’s, which depend on reliable trade with Canadian suppliers, have been caught in the crossfire of Trump-era tariffs. “This isn’t just about policy, it’s about whether we can plan for the future, pay our employees, and keep our doors open.”

Brown has been an outspoken defender of the Trump administration’s tariff policies, parroting the false framing that the president is using them as a “bargaining tool”, even as they t raise costs on American families And continue to hurt New Hampshire’s small businesses. 

Cathleen Fountain, a U.S. Navy veteran and North Country resident, criticized both Trump and Brown for supporting what she called a systematic effort to dismantle the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Trump laid off thousands of VA employees—including veterans themselves—and cut critical services like the Veterans Crisis Line,” Fountain said. “Scott Brown has defended those actions, even saying some veterans are just ‘getting a paycheck.’ That’s not leadership. That’s betrayal.”

Fountain warned that the mass firings and proposed cuts to veterans’ services reflect a larger goal of privatizing or gutting the VA, leaving those who served with fewer resources and less support.

Brown has consistently aligned himself with Donald Trump’s policies, including offering his full throated support for defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., opposing the Affordable Care Act, and supporting Trump’s anti-abortion agenda.

While Brown’s strategy so far is to embrace Donald Trump, he’s also taking swings at his opponent in the Senate race, longtime New Hampshire Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is  regularly  rated as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress in annual rankings.

Brown’s campaign photoshopped Pappas alongside Rep.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D—NY) and New York City Democratic mayoral primary winner Zohran Mamdani — political figures with no connection to Pappas — as well as a centrally placed pride shirt on Pappas, echoing a homophobic attack strategy that has been routinely run against Pappas in past campaigns to little effect.

Democrats were quick to note that New Hampshire voters have not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2010, and they have never delivered the state to Trump in a general election.

“This is a man who has already been rejected by New Hampshire voters,” Buckley said. “And if he thinks Granite Staters will embrace a campaign built on Trump’s reckless agenda, he’s in for another rude awakening.”