A North Dakota Republican struggled to explain why he'd suddenly thrown his support behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign Monday.
“It's a binary choice,” Gov. Doug Burgum told Phil Mattingly. “President Trump is going to win the Republican nomination.”
“Governor, which primary are you watching?” Mattingly snapped back. “There are four, five, maybe six Republican candidates. In what world is this a binary choice at this point in time with other candidates still in the race?”
Those Republicans include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Dallas businessman Ryan Binkley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Burgum argued it was clear none of Trump’s contenders would stand a chance against the frontrunner former president in the Iowa Caucus on Monday or in the 2024 presidential race.
He then tried to pivot the conversation to President Joe Biden, but Mattingly brought the talk back to Trump.
“Do you think he's the best of the remaining candidates in the race?”
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Burgum may have found this difficult to answer as Monday’s interview opened with a months-old clip of the North Dakota governor declaring he would not ever do business with Trump because “you’re judged by the company you keep.”
Once again, Burgum pivoted to criticizing Biden’s administration, then declined to directly answer Mattingly’s follow-up question: “Does this precede an announcement that you're going to run for reelection as governor.”
Burgum listed off his successes in the state but said it wasn’t an announcement he was prepared to make the day of the Iowa Caucus.
“Probably helpful to have the former president's support if you do that,” Mattingly replied.
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