CONCORD, N.H. – On Monday morning, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley and State Representative Jodi Newell (D-Keene) held a virtual press conference to address the return of several Republican Presidential Candidates to the Granite State this week, stating that their words on the campaign trail are hollow and their actions have been harmful to New Hampshire residents.
Buckley attacked former U.S. President Donald Trump on healthcare costs, stating that 320,000 people in Nw Hampshire that rely on regular medication did not matter to Trump. He also attacked Trump on job creation, saying that policies proposed by Trump encouraged corporations to send jobs overseas and gave tax cuts to the rich that were paid for by middle class families.
Buckley added that his competitors for the GOP Presidential Nomination see Trump as a role model, insinuating that they would pursue similar policies if elected.
“Trump’s MAGA failures are the blueprint for ever Republican running for President,” he said. “Where it’s Niki Haley or Ron DeSantis or Vivek Ramaswamy or anyone else, according to Granite Staters, they’re all cut from the same extreme cloth.”
Newell also attacked Trump on healthcare policies, such as what she saw as his lack of action on addressing the opioid crisis and his attempts to slash funding for substance abuse and mental health services, particularly cutting the Office of National Drug Control Policy budget by 95 percent.
“Trump used the presidency to get rid of key programs our state relies on to tackle the opioid crisis, and that’s why New Hampshire families rejected Donald Trump in 2020 and helped send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House,” said Newell.
Although it is widely expected that Biden will not officially file as a candidate in New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Democratic Presidential Primary, he said that a write-in campaign among Democratic activists to support Biden is expected and the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s focus is on the November 2024 State and Federal Election. He added that he did not expect Biden’s decision to influence any of the GOP candidates, that a MAGA extremist is expected to win on the Republican side, not stating a specific candidate.
New Hampshire GOP spokesperson Jimmy Thompson released the following statement in response to the Democrats’ comments.