Doug Burgum dodges question about political violence if Trump loses election

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) on Sunday dodged a question about whether he was concerned about political violence if former President Trump loses November’s presidential election.

Co-host Jake Tapper asked Burgum on “State of the Union” if he was worried about the possibility of political violence if the former president loses the November election. Tapper noted that Trump, in a recent interview with Time magazine, was asked if there was a possibility of political violence after the election if he doesn’t win, and he said, “It depends.”

Mr. Burkum dodged the question and instead began rattling off his previous campaign, which he said was widely contested after the election. He told Tapper that the “larger context here” was about “the American election.”

“We talk about elections as if they are one thing in our country, but elections are still conducted at the state, county and precinct level,” he said. “And in Cook County, it was a very close race between Kennedy and Nixon, and Nixon conceded. In 2000, they made a movie about it, and then that election was fought in court for two months.”

Mr. Tapper then pressed Mr. Burgum further on questions about the possibility of violence, but the governor did not directly answer his questions. Burkum stressed that the focus should instead be on securing elections so that both sides can be “satisfied with how the elections are counted.”

“I look forward to next January when Vice President Harris certifies Donald Trump’s election. So it’s up to the American people to decide this election, but for both parties and for all Americans, every county, every We must ensure that our constituency is above reproach and that everyone has confidence in this country,” he replied.

Mr. Tapper was referring to Mr. Trump’s recent interview with Time magazine, in which he was asked about the possibility of political violence after the November election. Trump first told the magazine that he expected to win and that there would be no violence.

“I think we can have a big victory. And I don’t think there will be any violence,” he replied, records state.

In an interview a few days later, he was further pressed on whether there was a possibility of violence if he did not win the election.

“I think we’ll win. And if we don’t, it depends. It always comes down to the fairness of the election. I don’t think they can do what they did last time. That they get away with it. I don’t think we can. If we did, we would have a record victory,” Trump said, according to the magazine’s transcript.