Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), one of former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign rivals who ended his candidacy in December, endorsed the 45th president at a rally Sunday, on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses.
After Trump invited him to speak on stage at Sunday’s rally in Indianola, Iowa, Burgum announced his support for the 45th president, per Right Side Broadcasting’s stream of the rally on Rumble.
“Four years ago, I was speaking on behalf of President Trump at the Iowa caucuses in Sioux City, and today, I’m here to do something that none of the other presidential primary candidates have done, and that’s endorse Donald J. Trump for the President of the United States of America,” Burgum said to cheers from those in attendance.
Burgum said that when the former president assumed office in 2017, “heartland states,” including Iowa and North Dakota, “were respected.”
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“We had a friend and a partner in the White House who understood us and who wanted to see our states succeed versus being regulated out of business,” he added. “Now, I’ve had a chance as governor to see what the world is like under Joe Biden, and America needs a 180-degree change in the direction of where Joe Biden has taken us.”
Burgum, who made energy policy a focus of his own campaign, slammed Biden as being “wrong on the economy,” energy, and national security and contrasted his policies with that of the first Trump administration:
Biden’s policies are empowering our enemies and they hurt America. Biden’s inflation has raised the cost of food that you put on your table. It’s raised the cost of gas you put in your car. That’s what happens when we put someone in the White House like Joe Biden, unlike President Trump, but we put someone in the White House who’s never created a job in the private sector.
What a contrast to President Trump. President Trump protected our borders. He cut red tape like no president has ever done before; he passed the largest tax cuts in the history of America, and he supercharged our economy.
Burgum noted Trump “delivered energy independence” in his first term and predicted he would unleash American “energy dominance” if he returned to the White House. The governor emphasized that Iowans have an opportunity on Monday “to send a message to the nation and send a message to the world that Donald J. Trump will make America great again.”
The 45th president expressed his gratitude to Burgum and first lady of North Dakota Kathryn Burgum.
“Thank you very much. That was an honor,” said Trump, adding Burgum “has a great record in everything he has ever done, so on behalf of the Trump family, we thank you both very much.”