New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu seeks to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2016 and will tell low-polling Republican presidential candidates on no uncertain terms to get the fuck out of the Granite State’s February 2024 primary if they can’t prove their viability by this November, effectively appointing himself kingmaker of the main non-Trump contender, the Dispatch reports.

“One on one, Trump loses. Most people understand that and know that” Sununu told reporters “My message would be to the candidates: We owe to the Republican base the ability for them to have a good choice. Otherwise we’re just diluting the process and we’re making it harder and more frustrating for them… The vast majority of folks won’t really make up their mind who they’re voting for until three weeks before the election. So even if you double or triple that time that means people around November time frame are going, OK, here’s where we could go. That’s when I think you’ll start seeing, either pushing folks off the stage – if you’re not cutting it by then, you’re not cutting it. And I’ve been very blunt about that, whether it’s myself or others, and I think there would have to be a concerted effort, just, encouraging candidates to get off the stage, get out of the race.”

New Hampshire GOP consultant and former Trump Administration official Matt Bartlett, who appears to be among the handful of ex-Trumpsters who no longer worship the Orange God Emperor, said Sununu’s strategy is worth a shot. “Voters pay attention to him. What he says weighs heavy on them. Most Republicans remember 2016 – how Trump won in a fractured party. It’s in no one’s interest to allow another Trump nomination, let alone get embarrassed,” said Bartlett.