John E. Sununu’s changing take on tariffs, as he seeks Trump’s endorsement

Two years ago, John E. Sununu said that President Donald Trump showed bad leadership on trade because of tariffs. Now that Trump is back in office, Sununu’s tone appears to be changing.

Why does it matter?

Granite Staters will soon weigh a decision about Sununu—and his stance on tariffs is important for two reasons. First, it reflects how he’d act in a political leadership role under President Trump. And second, it reflects the time he spent executing financial decisions for the American people.

John E. Sununu is currently running for US Senate in New Hampshire. If it sounds like a familiar story, that’s because it is—Sununu, a Republican, represented New Hampshire in Congress in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When he ran again in 2008, he won just three counties—losing his seat to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Since then, Granite Staters have reelected Jeanne Shaheen to the US Senate twice. Sununu, on the other hand, went on to work as a serial corporate board member.

When Shaheen announced she wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2026, Sununu reemerged, announcing his candidacy for the Senate seat.

People who follow politics in the state will recognize the name—Sununu’s father, John H. Sununu, was New Hampshire’s governor in the 1980s, and his brother, Chris Sununu, was governor from 2017 to 2025.

On socials: John E. Sununu: The ultimate nepo baby?

Sununu flip-flops

Back in 2015, before Trump ever took office, Sununu wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe advocating for free trade.

“People want what they want, and trade works for them,” Sununu wrote. “It works for American consumers by providing access to less expensive goods; it makes the American economy more efficient by attracting capital to our most productive areas.”

Sununu’s op-ed criticizes trade barriers like tariffs, which make the cost of goods go up for American consumers.

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. For example, the US has a 15% tariff on goods imported from South Korea. If something worth $10 is imported, the US company that imports the item has to pay an extra $1.50. Importing companies typically pass that burden onto the consumer, making prices rise.

The exporting country—in this example, South Korea—does not pay for tariffs.

Again in 2023, speaking at a conference about global trade, Sununu voiced a clear stance on free trade, and went so far as to say that both Trump and President Joe Biden were bad for business.

“Good leadership matters, and bad leadership matters too,” Sununu said. “The effect that President Trump has had, and now President Biden too. So we need better leadership.”

Now facing a Senate run as a Trump Republican—one who in 2024 called Trump a “loser”—Sununu’s language has notably changed.

In a recent interview with WMUR, Sununu offered a rambling take on tariffs: “I think the point is if [other countries] want access to the American market, they’re going to have to either change those non-tariff barriers or face some form of tariff, and I think that message is an important one.”

In another recent interview with WMUR, Sununu said he would be an “effective advocate” in working with Trump.

“There’s no question I would be incredibly effective working with this White House, working with President Trump.”

It’s language that has many Granite Staters putting their guards up against a Sununu return to power, particularly after Politico reported his plans to meet with Trump in the Oval Office about his candidacy, and after he said he would “absolutely” seek the president’s endorsement.