Trump In Leaked Transcript: I Won NH Primary Because State Is 'Drug-Infested Den'​

CONCORD, NH — As the president heads off on an August vacation, the Washington Post has obtained leaked transcripts from private conversations he had earlier this year with the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. During the conversation with Nieto, President Donald Trump credited his 2016 New Hampshire primary win to the drug problems in the state and said the two leaders needed to work together to stop the crisis and build a wall to keep drugs out of the United States. According to the Post, Trump described the issue as “a massive problem” where kids are becoming addicted to drugs because “the drugs are being sold for less than candy.” He then stated, “I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den.”

Democrats in the state immediately pounced on the comment. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Concord NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said the president was wrong about New Hampshire and placed the blame with him – even though he has only been in office for six months.

"No, Mr. President, you're wrong about New Hampshire – but you have failed to help us fight the opioid crisis,” she said in an emailed statement. “We need recovery facilities NOW. Stop attacking health care and make the investments you promised.”

U.S. Ann McLane Kuster, also a New Hampshire Democrat, called the comments appalling and called for an apology.

“At a time when we need to be working together to address the opioid epidemic, Mr. Trump is making disparaging remarks about New Hampshire to foreign leaders while promoting policies at home that will hurt our response to the substance misuse crisis, including efforts to roll back access to healthcare for thousands of Granite Staters," she said. "I’ve found willing partners in both Republicans and Democrats who want to work together to address the opioid crisis that’s impacting communities throughout the country.”

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, in a post on Twitter, called the description of the state, “disgusting,” while calling for the president to work in a bipartisan manner to fix the crisis. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, requested an apology on Twitter as well as following through on the promise to help the state.

Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, called on Gov. Chris Sununu to “immediately and fiercely condemn” the comments.

“It's never a guarantee that Gov. Sununu will disagree with Trump,” Buckley stated. “On so many issues, Sununu and Trump have been in lockstep, from the Muslim Ban to Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords to their matching lies about voter fraud."

Buckley agreed with Shea-Porter that, rather than name-calling, Trump should deliver on the promised aid to fight the problem.

Sununu, in a statement, called the president “wrong” and said the comments were “disappointing” because “his mischaracterization of this epidemic ignores the great things this state has to offer.” He added that his administration inherited from Hassan “one of the worst health crises this state has ever experienced, but we are facing this challenge head on,” including doubling the state’s resources to support prevention, treatment and recovery, as well as millions of dollars to law enforcement orgs, increased the availability of naloxone, and rebuilding prevention programs for kids.

“We are already seeing positive signs of our efforts as overdoses and deaths are declining in key parts of the state,” he added. “In spite of this crisis, New Hampshire remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

One of Trump’s most dedicated supporters in the state – former Londonderry Republican state representative Daniel Tamburello – countered the comments by Democrats saying that not only did the then-candidate visit the state “dozens of times,” but he was also following through on his promise to tackle the drug problems.

“(He) spoke with many Granite Staters who dealt first-hand with the adverse effects of our opioid crisis and he promised to do everything in his power to help,” he said. “Donald Trump keeps promises, and that's exactly what he's doing now.”

While Trump's comments may have been uncouth and offensive to many, he won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2016 against more than 30 other candidates in a landslide by more than 55,000 votes or more than 19 percent of the vote, an unprecedented result for an outsider in one of the heaviest primary turnouts in the modern political era, due to his position on the construction of a wall along the Mexican border as well as his commitment to fighting the heroin problem.

The drug problems in the state are well-documented and have struck across all walks of life in the Granite State. During the past few years, the heroin problem – and later, fentanyl and methamphetamine – have led to a massive increase in drug death statistics.

Back in 2013, officials began to notice a large upswing in the number of overdose deaths and drug arrests. A year later, deaths had more than tripled. Last year, state officials called the latest data “staggering.” New Hampshire, according to the CDC, leads the nation during the last 15 years in teen and young men fatal overdoses due to cocaine and opioids.

As Trump noted in his private comments, drugs are easy as buying candy – on any given day in Concord, alleged and convicted drug dealers are hanging around on the plaza of the Statehouse and camped out in the numerous homeless camps around the city. A single hit of heroin can be purchased by nearly anyone for about $5.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Hastings/Frame of Mind Photography. FrameofMindPhoto.com.