North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, on Wednesday avoided a question about potentially being former President Donald Trump’s running mate, saying it was up to the former president.
When Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Burgum if he would like to be Trump’s running mate, Burgum replied, “That’s a decision for President Trump to make. That’s a decision for President Trump alone. He has a lot of great options.”
Burgum announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination last year, but in recent weeks has emerged as a leading contender to be Trump’s vice president.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has praised Burgum’s work as governor and said earlier this year that he expected him to be “a very important part of my administration.”
McCollum on Wednesday asked Burgum whether he had any concerns about working in the Trump administration, given his past critical comments about the former president.
“Well, I have no qualms about being in this administration,” Burgum responded. “Obviously, Martha, as you know, I supported President Trump early on in 2016, I supported him in 2020, and I was one of the first to support him this year. At least in our state, there’s a world of difference between a President Trump and a President Biden. So I have no qualms about that at all.”
Burgum is a former businessman who first made a name for himself by running a highly successful company before entering politics with no prior experience, winning his first gubernatorial election in 2016 and winning a second term in 2020.
Burgum suggested his business experience could be beneficial in the Trump White House.
“And of course, it’s great to have a businessman in the White House, especially with all the economic challenges we have as a nation,” the North Dakota governor said, “But for me, I never knew President Trump, never met him, in ’16, when I first endorsed him. In 2020, I had the opportunity to work with them the way governors work with the president, and the relationship has been professional and excellent.”
“But it’s only since January until now and having spent time with him that I’ve gotten to know him as a person,” he later said. “I want every American to see what Catherine and I have seen: a man who cares deeply about this country, who works tirelessly, who applies common sense to all the issues that every American, every working American family, struggles with. I mean, he’s just amazing.”
