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Politico has a wrap-up on Saturday night’s Gridiron Club dinner at the Renaissance Hotel. More than 600 journalists and other Very Important People attended the first Gridiron dinner in three years. The pandemic is definitely over, y’all. The annual event (except during a pandemic) is known for the brutal comedic remarks that come from guest speakers, including many current politicians.

Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) has, at times, been spoken of in terms of future political ambitions. It was widely speculated that Sununu would run for the Senate. Republican insiders strongly encouraged Sununu to challenge Senator Maggie Hassan, the Democrat incumbent, in 2022. Sununu decided to take a pass on that idea, even though Hassan is seen as a very weak candidate, her re-election not at all assured. Republicans hoped to pick up that Senate seat in November. Sununu decided to run for re-election as Governor of New Hampshire. It will be his fourth two-year term in that position.

Sununu has not ruled out running for a federal office in the future, though. He may or may not decide to run for a federal office, including president, in the future. He’s also voiced a desire to serve in a Republican president’s cabinet. As an aggressively ambitious Republican who often criticizes the former president, he’s a favorite among Democrats and their cohorts in the media who count on him to do some Trump bashing. He did not disappoint them at the Gridiron Club dinner.

“You know, he’s probably going to be the next president,” Sununu said of Trump, musing about his “experience,” “passion,” “sense of integrity” and the “rationale” he brought to his tweets. As the room quieted to see where he was going with this, he paused, then yelled: “Nah, I’m just kidding! He’s FUCKING CRAZY!” The ballroom roared with laughter. “ARE YOU KIDDING?! Come on. You guys are buying that? I love it … He just stresses me out so much! … I’m going to deny I ever said it.”

It didn’t stop there: “The press often will ask me if I think Donald Trump is crazy. And I’ll say it this way: I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution. But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out!”

A “Trump is crazy” theme is completely predictable from a Trump critic, and certainly from a Republican Trump critic. The crowd assembled for this shindig is described as “D.C.’s high society” and they lapped it up. Sununu continued on to include other Republicans in his bit.

— On VIRGINIA THOMAS’ now-infamous text messages to MARK MEADOWS: “We know she may be extreme, but let’s face it: when it comes to texting, she’s no ANTHONY WEINER. And you guys thought we forgot about that freakshow.”

— And TED CRUZ hanging out with the People’s Convoy: “Nobody really knows why [the Convoy protesters are] in Washington in the first place — which pretty much describes Ted himself, right? … What is with Ted? You see that beard? … He looks like MEL GIBSON after a DUI or something.”

— On Trump ally and MyPillow CEO MIKE LINDELL: “This guy’s head is stuffed with more crap than his pillows. And by the way, I was told not to say this, but I will: His stuff is crap. I mean, it’s absolute crap. You only find that kind of stuff in the Trump Hotel.”

Sununu also told a story about a time Trump visited him in New Hampshire and invited him to ride inside the presidential limo, The Beast. The then-president suddenly stopped talking and pointed out the window at people lining the road holding American flags, saying, “They LOVE me!” Only problem, said Sununu, was that the man he pointed to held a sign that read, “FUCK TRUMP.”

At least he mentioned Anthony Weiner when he brought up Ginni Thomas. Though, it was an odd comparison to lump him in with a conservative activist who is married to a Supreme Court justice.

As a side note, Mike Lindell was in Houston last night at a Republican fundraiser offering a connect-the- dots presentation on how 960,000 votes were taken from Trump in Texas and given to Biden in 2020.

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Lindell described voting machine companies as a part of organized crime. That’s a take.

Too bad Sununu didn’t bother to include some Democrats in his routine at the Gridiron Club dinner, other than Anthony Weiner. The Democrats who cracked wise during the dinner included Republicans in their routines. That is how it is, though, in the Republican circular firing line. They should be taking that energy and aiming it at Democrats, especially when a red wave, probably a red tsunami is fast approaching in November. Some scare-mongering about Trump’s possible presidential run in 2024 is a good way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. Sununu is still a relatively young man. He has time to pursue future office.

Joe Biden didn’t attend the dinner. He sent a video message that was played at the beginning of the evening. The Gridiron Club dinner was the first press dinner he attended as president. Not a peep from the press that criticized Trump for every press dinner he skipped after that one, though. They are happy to act as though Joe Biden’s behavior is perfectly normal.

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