Trump to speak on economy in Manchester today
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Apr. 27—MANCHESTER — Former President Trump will give a policy address on the economy in the Queen City later today while the campaign announces a series of endorsements from past and present elected officials and party leaders, according to sources close to the campaign.
Trump also will be taking questions from voters at the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Manchester Hotel event this afternoon.
There were plans in the works for Trump to make at least one unscripted stop while he's back in the Granite State, likely in downtown Manchester.
These endorsements were clearly meant to convince New Hampshire voters that Trump is "getting the band back" while he adds to those forces he had for his winning 2016 presidential campaign and his loss to Joe Biden in 2020.
They also seek to downplay any defections Trump has already had of some past supporters who have gone elsewhere or declined to back Trump just yet.
During an appearance on the "Good Morning New Hampshire" radio talk show program with Jack Heath Thursday, Trump took yet another swipe at New Hampshire governor and potential 2024 primary rival Chris Sununu.
Trump said Sununu should have run for the U.S. Senate and not led GOP party leaders in Washington to conclude that Sununu was all in to challenge Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., before he decided to seek a fourth, two-year term as governor.
"Many people in New Hampshire are mad at him for not running," Trump said, calling a Sununu White House run "fool's gold."
Earlier this week Sununu called Trump a "coward" and again predicted that there was no way Trump was going to win the 2024 election.
Trump has chosen for his second campaign event in Manchester the same hotel armory ballroom that likely 2024 rival and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came to in making his first exploratory visit to New Hampshire two weeks ago.
Trump campaign aides insist the venue was not intended to show up DeSantis with a larger crowd. There are only so many places to hold this big an event, and it was selected as the site some time ago, they said.
It won't be a Trump campaign event, however, if he doesn't make some reference to a big turnout.
Campaign aides said the team has amassed a detailed file on the campaign's direct contacts with 192,000 voters in New Hampshire since he first began running for President in 2015. There have been another 8,000 additional voter contacts made here since last February, they said.
With the Trump team projecting a 2024 first-in-the-nation primary turnout of up to 320,000, campaign aides believe he can convincingly win a contested race here with 120,000 votes.
All that said, Trump's campaign is bracing for what could become a protracted fight for the nomination and assumes he'll have to earn the support of New Hampshire voters.
In the 2016 primary, Trump got just over 100,000 votes and 35% that crushed a crowded field in New Hampshire and sent him on his way to the GOP nomination.
Trump then lost the New Hampshire vote to Hillary Clinton while beating her nationally and lost New Hampshire to Joe Biden by a larger margin, about 8%.
Trump to harp on inflation
Trump's choice to speak on the economy comes a day after a Fox News poll that gave President Joe Biden a failing grade on his handling of the economy.
The Trump team further believes Biden offered very little to voters about an economic plan in making his own official announcement for a second term earlier this week.
The speech comes as Trump is seeking to pivot from the stump remarks at rallies to more focused commentary on issues of importance to likely voters.
The campaign and candidate appear anxious to show that while Trump is not getting rid of his MAGA rallies, they realize voters in 2024 are looking for more specifics about what a second Trump term in the White House would look like.
Trump leads the entire, potential GOP presidential field by a large margin, according to recent independent polls here.
With that early lead, those close to the campaign say it's unlikely Trump would participate in a first candidate debate that the Republican National Committee is hoping to put together in August.
The RNC has named Fox News to host the event. The RNC hasn't announced a date for the event that several potential candidates have mentioned it as a key moment in the race including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sununu.
Plans are already being laid for Trump to return to the first-in-the-nation primary state again next month.
