Highlights:
Burgum Would Not Commit To Accepting The Certified Results Of The 2024 Election. According to the Washington Post, “Will you commit today to accepting the certified results of the 2024 election? Unclear. In response to The Post, Burgum campaign spokesman Lance Trover did not directly address the governor’s position on the question, providing a brief comment saying, ‘Gov. Burgum believes people should be held accountable for their actions and plans on defeating Joe Biden by such a large margin that there will be no question that Doug won.’” [Washington Post, 11/8/23]
Burgum Alleged That There Were “Irregularities” During The 2020 Elections. According to ABC News, “He also said he thinks ‘there were irregularities in terms of how the election went’ in 2020, though no election officials our courts have confirmed any fraud large enough to change any of the results.” [ABC News, 8/6/23]
Burgum Indicated He Would Support Trump Even If Convicted Of A Crime. According to Politico, “Vivek Ramaswamy's hand shot up first. He was followed over the next few long seconds by the surrounding candidates on the debate stage - South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis - raising their hands too, some after looking around at their neighbors. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's hands remained at his sides. And former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie shook his fist. The question had been whether the candidates who are far trailing former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary would support the former president if he wins the nomination again, and is convicted of a crime. Trump currently faces four separate indictments on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.” [Politico, 7/19/23]
Burgum Avoided Conversations About Trump’s Culpability In January 6 Attacks. According to ABC News, “Early in Burgum's appearance, Stephanopoulos said, ‘I know you want to talk about your campaign and the future, but the fact is that Donald Trump is the front-runner right now. He's facing three felony indictments. Have you read the indictments, and what's your reaction to them?’ The governor avoided commenting on if he had read Trump's three felony indictments -- all of which Trump denies -- and his opinion on if Trump was wrong in pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021.” [ABC News, 8/6/23]
Burgum Moved On To Other Topics Instead Of Talking About Trump’s Involvement In January 6. According to ABC News, “’Everybody's innocent until proven guilty,’ Burgum said, adding, ‘We should be talking about the energy, economy and national security.’” [ABC News, 8/6/23]
When Asked Whether Trump Tried To Overturn The 2020 Election, Burgum Replied, “I’m Not A Lawyer.” According to ABC News, “Stephanopoulos interjected, again asking Burgum for his personal view: ‘Do you have an opinion on the fact that the President Trump tried to overturn the election as alleged in the indictment this week by special prosecutor Smith?’ He continued to distance himself from the topic. ‘I'm not a lawyer. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm someone who leads and operates businesses. I care about the people of this country -- and you're asking me basically a legal question. We're focused on the future,’ Burgum replied.” [ABC News, 8/6/23]
Burgum Said That Voters Did Not Care About Trump’s Indictments. According to ABC News, “Burgum argued that voters in the first two primary states are not interested in discussing Trump's mounting charges, and if they are they can simply consume any of the constant news coverage about it. […] ‘There's an entire industry built around commenting on President Trump, and I'll just leave it to the pundits,’ he said. ‘I mean, we're in a position today where when we're out talking to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, they're not asking about the indictments.’” [ABC News, 8/6/23]
AUDIO: Burgum Would Not Say Whether He Would Pardon Trump Of Any Legal Convictions. According to the Simon Conway Show via SoundCloud, “HOST: If you were to become president of the United States and they found a way to convict Donald Trump, would you pardon him? BURGUM: Well, this is a totally hypothetical question. Simon, one thing I've learned as governor - when people say, ‘would you sign X, Y, Z, bill, you know, two years from now?’ - and I haven't seen the bill. And I don't know the language. America is a country where you're innocent until you're proven guilty. So no one's been convicted yet, and so it's just pure speculation. I'll leave that to the pundits.” [Simon Conway Show via Soundcloud, 6/9/23]
When Burgum Was Asked About Whether He Would Pardon Insurrectionists Including Trump, He Did Not Provide An Answer. According to the Washington Post, “As president, would you pardon or consider pardoning people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol? Unclear. Burgum does not appear to have publicly said whether he would consider pardoning people convicted in connection to the Jan. 6 attack, and the brief statement did not address this question.” [Washington Post, 11/8/23]
VIDEO: Burgum Dodged Questions About How He Would Have Acted As Vice President During January 6. According to Politico, “HOST: If you were Trump’s vice president on January 6th, would you have done what Mike Pence did? BURGUM: Well I think that all the speculation about who’s going to be in the cabinet, who’s going to be vice president, is just a distraction from what has to happen. Which is the party has got to focus on Donald Trump winning in November. I mean, he’s got so many people that want to serve in this administration that he’s going to be able to pick the people of his choosing at the time that makes sense for him.” [Politico, 3/6/24]
Burgum Refused To Say If He Would Accept The 2024 Election Results. According to Fox News via YouTube, “KURTZ: You have said that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. So you differ a little bit with the former president on that. But do you think the 2024 outcome will be contested as well? BURGUM: Well, Howie, this is interesting because in my lifetime, I think we know 1960 was a contested election right there in Cook County, in Chicago. And then in more recent history for even the young people may not know. But in 2000, we had the hanging chads in Florida. [...] In 2016, we had Russiagate and Hillary Clinton and everybody claiming that the election had been stolen. KURTZ: Although she did concede the election. BURGUM: Eventually, yes. KURTZ: The next day. BURGUM: But I think we've got a you know, again, and for people that want to refresh themselves, I mean, go watch the 2008 movie Recount, you know, where Kevin Spacey plays Ron Klain, where they were, you know, launched that movie in 08 ahead of when Obama was running. So it's been a stronghold of the Democrats to be concerned about election integrity. I think we all should. Democrats, Republicans, independents.” [Fox News via YouTube, 5/29/24]