Skip to main content
Tags: burgum | gop | nomination | election

Gov. Burgum to Newsmax: Focus on Cleaning Biden's Mess

By    |   Tuesday, 29 August 2023 10:59 AM EDT

Presidential candidates focus on the future, not the past, and stand against the challenges the U.S. faces with President Joe Biden in the White House, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, coming off his debate as a GOP presidential candidate, said on Newsmax, Tuesday. 

Burgum said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that he is a leader and is not interested in serving as a vice president or in the Cabinet if another candidate takes the GOP nomination and wins the White House. 

"[With] interest rates at a 22-year high, families and small businesses are just choking under the inflation ... $700 more per month is what the average family is paying for their basic goods today versus what they were before Biden was in office," Burgum said.

Energy costs are also a serious issue, as "everybody in this country is paying too much for their gas, too much for their diesel, if you're a farmer or if you're a lobsterman, and they're paying too much to heat their homes," said Burgum. 

Burgum said he believes the Biden administration's policies were created by China. 

"He wants to switch everything, TVs, electric vehicles," Burgum said. "But if China controls 85% of the world's rare earth minerals, we're just basically switching OPEC for Sinopec at a time when we're in a cold war with China. I was the only candidate on the stage that actually said out loud: 'We're in a cold war with China.'"

Burgum said Tuesday that he's looking forward to the second debate and expects to meet the qualifications, but he'll leave it to "other campaigns" to decide if they want to participate after former President Donald Trump stayed out of last week's event. 

While Trump holds large leads in national polling for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Burgum remains optimistic.

"We're still in the point where we're introducing ourselves," Burgum said, noting that he has had a remarkable career as governor and during his 30 years in business.

"I was taking a little start-up from scratch with 10 other kids, building a 2,000-person company that was operating in 132 countries," said Burgum. "It just happens to be that the business that I was in that whole time was about how to make businesses more efficient. One of the things everyone's talking about is government's too big and government's too inefficient."

In North Dakota, Burgum said he has been able to take his skills from the private sector and apply them to improve government. 

"We say in North Dakota, 'Let's treat the taxpayers like customers,'" he said. "While miracles can happen, costs go down and services go up."

And that kind of skill takes leadership, said Burgum. 

"I'm not trying to sell a book," he said. "I'm not running for a Cabinet position. ... I would tell any of your viewers to just ignore the national polls."

Burgum also continued to pass on the hypothetical question about whether, if elected president, he'd pardon Trump. 

"I've been asked that a dozen times," Burgum said. "As a governor, I actually have the ability to pardon people … if you said there's somebody in North Dakota that has been charged, but there hasn't been one lick of evidence presented, you have no idea of the outcome, would you pardon this person?"

He acknowledged that he could answer, based on politics, but "I have to have some integrity about how I actually govern. In North Dakota, I would never say that to anyone … anybody who answers that is being political.

"I'm running as my authentic self, and I have to just tell people I wouldn't make that decision in North Dakota as a leader who has pardon authority, and I don't think it's the right thing to run around and make those kinds of promises now."

Instead, "our job is to talk about Joe Biden, not talk about the past, not talk about indictments," Burgum said. 

About NEWSMAX TV:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Newsmax-Tv
Presidential candidates focus on the future, not the past, and stand against the challenges the U.S. faces with President Joe Biden in the White House, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, coming off his debate as a GOP presidential candidate, said on Newsmax on Tuesday. 
burgum, gop, nomination, election
699
2023-59-29
Tuesday, 29 August 2023 10:59 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved