Sununu says he faulted Iran war from the start; in March he called it 'very effective'

Former Sen. John E. Sununu, the Republican running for the open U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire, told voters at Wednesday night's debate that he had warned about the Iran war from the start. The record PolitiFact pulled tells a different story ¹.

The debate was the last one between Sununu and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas before Tuesday's election. WMUR-TV hosted it in Manchester on Oct. 28 ¹. The two men are running to replace Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring ³.

On tapeWMUR-TV · Oct 29

▶3:32

Then: 'Effective, very effective'

The United States went to war with Iran on Feb. 28 ¹. In March, Sununu said on WABC radio that the approach to the war had been effective ¹. He added that the war's objectives were clear ¹.

has been effective, very effective

By August his tone had changed. He told New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) it was "a tactical mistake" to go to war without a plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that much of the world's oil passes through ¹. In late October, PolitiFact reported, he again called it a strategic mistake to enter the war without a plan to keep the strait open ¹.

From Channel GOPEl-Sayed ties Rogers to Trump's Iran warAbdul El-Sayed · 196 plays · captioned, with the source named

Now: 'From the beginning'

On the debate stage, Pappas said Sununu had backed the war in its early days ¹².

You did support that operation at the beginning

Sununu answered that he had said from the beginning that attacking Iran without a plan for the strait was a mistake ¹. PolitiFact said it found no public statement from Sununu making that point when the war began ¹. Pappas also argued that "Donald Trump didn't have a plan to keep the strait open and to keep costs low for Granite Staters" ².

On tapeWMUR-TV · Oct 29

▶1:17

Sununu has tried to separate himself from President Trump. He pointed to their disagreements over trade with Canada and over Iran ².

Tariffs: 'very modest,' then 'a huge mistake'

Tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, showed the same kind of shift. In a September 2025 radio interview, Sununu said their economic impact had been "very modest" ¹. In October 2025, he backed tariffs as a tool for negotiating with other countries ¹. By this August, he was criticizing Trump's 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods and calling for an end to tariffs on construction materials ¹.

PolitiFact said Pappas's version of those comments left out context ¹. Sununu objected to it in the debate.

Digging out one word is deceptive.

Social Security: the record from 2000 to 2005

One of the most contentious exchanges of the night was over Social Security. Pappas said that while Sununu was in the Senate, he proposed privatizing the program. PolitiFact rated that Mostly True ¹. Sununu was promoting the idea as early as 2000 and introduced bills in 2001, 2004 and 2005 ¹.

In 2005, Sununu and then-Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin proposed letting workers move a large share of their Social Security taxes into private accounts, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported ³. President George W. Bush backed the idea, but the bill failed ³. PolitiFact noted that joining would have been voluntary, or limited to younger new workers. It would not have been required of people already getting benefits ¹.

Sununu said the attack was meant to scare people ². When Pappas tied him to a Bush-era proposal, Sununu said, "That wasn't my bill, Chris. You can't ascribe every crazy bill ever introduced in Congress to me" ².

The idea of 'taking people out of the system,' that's designed to scare senior citizens, and that's just wrong.

The Union Leader reported that Sununu declined to give details during a debate. It also reported that he told WMUR, "I was willing to do it before. I'm willing to do it again" ³. Shaheen, who beat Sununu in 2008, said "he and (President) Donald Trump have every intention of privatizing Social Security" ³.

Pappas says he wants to raise the cap on wages that are taxed for Social Security. Right now only the first $184,500 of a person's pay is taxed ³. He said that "we need to start with people earning more than $1 million a year" ³.

Why the stakes are high

Social Security's trustees warn that benefit cuts could come as early as 2032 ³. Todd Fahey, a former state director of AARP (the large group for Americans over 50), said that if nothing is fixed, a 22% cut would drop the average monthly check from $2,300 to $1,800 ³. That would take about $2 billion out of the $9 billion paid each year to New Hampshire retirees ³.

Sununu also skipped an Oct. 29 debate hosted by NHPR at Dartmouth College. His campaign cited his schedule, the Union Leader reported ⁴. A UMass Lowell/YouGov poll released on debate day had Pappas ahead 48% to 41% ².

The pattern is the same on all three issues. On Iran, tariffs and Social Security, Sununu's past words point one way and his campaign answers another. Voters can weigh both on Tuesday.

The Record

1. Feb 28, 2026The U.S. war with Iran begins. PolitiFact found no public statement from Sununu at the time calling it a mistake ¹.
2. Sep 8, 2026New Hampshire holds its primary. Sununu had skipped a WMUR primary debate with Republican rival Scott Brown ⁴.
3. Oct 22, 2026Sununu's campaign says he will not attend the Oct. 29 NHPR debate at Dartmouth, citing his schedule ⁴.
4. Oct 28, 2026At the final WMUR debate, Sununu says he called the Iran war a mistake from the beginning. PolitiFact rates Pappas's Social Security privatization claim Mostly True ¹².

Sources

1. PolitiFact, “Fact-check: Sununu and Pappas debate in Granite State ahead of US Senate midterm” (2026-10-28). politifact.com/article/2026/oct/28/new-hampshire-senate-deba
2. NH Journal, “Pappas, Sununu Come Out Swinging in WMUR Debate” (2026-10-28). nhjournal.com/pappas-sununu-come-out-swinging-in-wmur-debate
3. New Hampshire Union Leader (via Yahoo News), “Pappas warns Sununu will bring back Social Security privatization plan” (2026-10-28). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/pappas-warns-sununu-bring-b
4. New Hampshire Union Leader (via Yahoo News), “Sununu won't attend Oct. 29 NHPR Senate debate at Dartmouth” (2026-10-22). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/sununu-won-t-attend-oct-224

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