When North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum showed up at Donald Trump's hush money/falsified business records trial in Lower Manhattan in May, he didn't hesitate to express his solidarity with the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee. And many pundits pointed out that he had a good reason to make his presence felt in New York City: the conservative governor is reportedly on Trump's short list for a running mate, along with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida).
But in an article published by Politico on July 5, journalist Stephen Rodrick stresses that North Dakota residents are finding Burgum's attempt at a Trumpian makeover "isn't even convincingly MAGA."
One of them is rancher John Hanson, a friend of Burgum who told Politico that the governor "doesn't work" like Trump.
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"Until recently, Hanson's buddy was a goateed software geek who spoke of gratitude, urban infrastructure and how abortion was none of his business," Rodrick explains. "Now, he was linking arms with a convicted felon who spoke in apocalyptic verse."
One of the GOP arguments for making Burgum Trump's running mate is that he would help Trump with traditional establishment conservatives.
Hanson told Politico, "Everyone asks: 'How can Doug work with Trump?' It's a good question, but how about this? Don't we want someone like Doug Burgum in the room if Trump goes off the rails and starts doing weird things?"
Rodrick points out, however, that Trump often clashed with traditional establishment conservatives during his four years in the White House.
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"The number of Republicans in Trump's first term who convinced themselves they could change Trump if only they could get into his inner sanctum was roughly equivalent to the legions of prairie dogs that populate the Hanson ranch," Rodrick notes. "Many met the same metaphorical fate as the varmints the Hansons occasionally turn into red vapor with their rifles to protect their pastures…. While Hanson remains confident Burgum would be a restraint on Trump, others wonder what happened to their guy and whether Burgum has morphed into just another enabler."
Democratic North Dakota State Rep. Josh Boschee is disappointed by Burgum's recent MAGA turn.
Boschee told Politico, "He did his own thing, and, if anything, he changed the way the game was played…. Doug started playing the game."
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Read Politico's full report at this link.
