Chris Sununu claims Donald Trump doesn't have the energy he had in 2016

Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) cast doubt on former President Donald Trump's ability to win the presidential election next year during an appearance on Sunday on ABC’s This Week.

Host Jon Karl began the interview by asking, "What are you hearing in Iowa? You were there at the Lincoln Day dinner with all the candidates out there. Trump seemed to get a warm reception, at least from what we saw. What were you hearing from Republicans?"

Sununu responded saying, "Trump got a warm reception, but it was without a doubt, and I think anybody in that room would tell you it was the worst speech. It was the worst ten minutes. He came out, he read, he read from a binder. He didn’t look up, he didn’t smile. It was — it was an absolute dead speech."

Sununu's characterization of Trump as tired and dead feeling is a stretch at best.

While Trump certainly wasn't his usual animated self, his speech was still clear and concise and certainly more palatable to older audiences than his usual rowdy demeanor.

However, there is an argument that Trump isn't his 2016 self. The years of being worn down by Washington, D.C. and the endless political investigations have certainly taken their toll on the former president.

The question is how much impact that will have in the presidential race. Trump is still light years ahead of President Joe Biden, who can hardly make it through a scripted appearance without losing his train of thought or dozing off.

Sununu doubled down on his attack saying, "This is not the Donald Trump of 2016. Don’t fool yourself. And as more and more folks realize that he doesn’t have the energy, he doesn’t have the fastball. He basically is droning on for ninety minutes on his long-form speeches about his legal battles as opposed to talking about the future of this country, solving the problems of this country, which is what all the other candidates are doing."

Trump certainly is focused on his legal battles, but that doesn't seem to be hurting him in the polls.

Despite what Sununu has to say about Trump's energy levels and priorities, the former president is still running away with the nomination. No other candidate has been able to match him, even as he battles multiple indictments.