Doug Burgum

[[File:Governor Doug Burgum (cropped).jpg|thumb|165px|Burgum's 2016 portrait.]]
{{uspolitics}}
'''Doug Burgum''' {{lived|1956}} is the former [[Republican Party|Republican]] governor of [[Fun:North Dakota|North Dakota]] who announced his 2024 campaign for [[President of the United States]] on 7 June 2023.<ref>[https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/doug-burgum-north-dakota-president-2024-b2353132.html Doug Burgum, little-known governor of North Dakota, announces White House run]</ref> He previously had a rather successful business career, earning himself a net worth of one and a half billion dollars, making him the second richest candidate (only being beaten by [[Donald Trump]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230812163343/https://www.seasonrelease.com/doug-burgum-net-worth/ Doug Burgum Net Worth: How Did Doug Burgum Make His Money?]</ref> While he was able to qualify for the first two debates, he dropped out on 4 December 2023 after being unable to qualify for the third or fourth.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/1215889596/doug-burgum-drops-out-gop-primary North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announces he's dropping out of the presidential race], Jeongyoon Han, ''npr'' 4 December 2024</ref> He was apparently strongly considered for Trump's VP pick, but he was passed over in favor of [[J. D. Vance]].<ref>[https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/15/rnc-live-updates-coverage/trump-vp-pick-doug-burgum-00168326 Trump's VP pick won't be Doug Burgum], Meridith McGraw and Kyle Cheney, ''Politico'' 15 July 2024</ref> Instead, he served as Trump's Secretary of the Interior, doing typical Republican things like expanding [[oil]] drilling on public lands<ref>[https://alaskawild.org/blog/doug-burgum-the-billionaire-governor-turned-trumps-doi-secretary/ Doug Burgum: The Billionaire Governor Turned Trump’s DOI Secretary], Sophia Grande, ''Alaska Wilderness League'' 31 January 2025</ref> as well as joining in on Trump's effort to try to [[censor]] any "negative" depictions of American [[history]].<ref>[https://wyofile.com/interior-secretary-burgum-asked-public-land-users-to-flag-negative-depictions-of-american-history-wyoming-criticized-the-effort-instead/ Interior Secretary Burgum asked public land users to flag ‘negative’ depictions of American history. Wyoming criticized the effort instead.], Mike Koshmrl, ''WyoFile'' 12 December 2025</ref>

==Bribing people to donate==
Burgum faced an immediate name recognition problem: almost no one had ever heard of him, and few people know much of anything at all about the state that he's from except that it's north of [[Fun:South Dakota|South Dakota]].

In order to get into the first Republican debate, one needs a certain number of donations in order to make sure the general public has at least some interest in them becoming President. In order to reach that threshold, Burgum had the idea to make it so anybody who donated one dollar would get a twenty dollar gift card in return.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/10/us/politics/doug-burgum-donations-debate.html Desperate to Debate: Why a G.O.P. Candidate Is Offering $20 for $1 Donations]</ref>{{efn|Multiple Democrats reporting donating one dollar to him so they could get the nineteen dollar profit to President [[Joe Biden]].<ref>[https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/doug-burgum-joe-biden-donation-b2381018.html Biden supporters exploit Republican’s $1 donation cashback campaign pledge: ‘I gave $1 to you and $20 to Biden’]</ref>}}

In the end, all that bribery didn't help Burgum get any votes&nbsp;— he dropped out before the first primary election. As of 2024, he is the US record holder for most personal money spent per vote received&nbsp;— $14 million spent for 499 votes, or $27,997 per vote!<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/15/senate-trone-funding/ David Trone and the history of candidates lighting their money on fire: The Maryland Senate candidate spent $62 million of his own money, only to lose the primary. But others have fared worse — at least on a dollars-per-vote basis.] by Aaron Blake (May 15, 2024 at 3:48 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Filthy rich people like to think that they're better than the rest of us — cough, cough.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/why-rich-people-think-theyre-better-than-everyone-scientific-explanation-2019-5 Here's a scientific explanation for why rich people think they're better than everyone] by Katie Warren (May 21, 2019, 2:28 PM) ''Business Insider''.</ref>

==Bullshit==
{{main|Bullshit}}
As Secretary of the Interior, US Federal lawyers represented him, arguing that the regime, under which he is employed, has a right to replace the truth about American [[slavery]] with bullshit.<ref>[https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.648842/gov.uscourts.paed.648842.53.0.pdf City of Philadelphia, Plaintiff, v. Doug Burgum, et al., Defendants] (February 16, 2026) ''United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Pennsylvania''. Civil Action No. 26-434.</ref><ref>[https://contrarian.substack.com/p/orwell-would-cringe Orwell Would Cringe: Trump’s assault on the First Amendment continues] by Jennifer Rubin (Feb 19, 2026) ''The Contrarian'' (Substack).</ref>

==Stopped clock==
Burgum has pledged to achieve [[carbon neutrality]] in North Dakota by 2030, and has even announced a surprisingly decent plan to achieve this goal.<ref>[https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/burgum-touts-goal-to-make-north-dakota-carbon-neutral-by-2030/article_35efd7f5-8633-536a-becf-7ea9a7b11c37.html Burgum touts goal to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030]</ref> He has even signed legislation specifically to make clean energy sustainable in his state.<ref>[https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/burgum-signs-bill-creating-clean-sustainable-energy-fund-support-low-emission-technology Burgum signs bill creating Clean Sustainable Energy Fund to support low-emission technology projects]</ref> (Despite this, he has shown more than a little interest in supporting the [[fossil fuel]] industry, from supporting the [[Dakota Access Pipeline]]<ref>[https://bismarcktribune.com/mandannews/local-news/burgum-posts-video-message-about-dapl/article_89fe54a0-7760-510b-9ba8-25b4f646da4e.html Burgum posts video message about DAPL]</ref> to threatening to sue his state's eastern neighbor [[Fun:Minnesota|Minnesota]] over a proposed plan which required energy in the state to be derived from clean sources.)<ref>[https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/north-dakota-officials-threaten-to-sue-minnesota-if-it-passes-2040-clean-energy-plan/ North Dakota officials threaten to sue Minnesota if it passes 2040 clean energy plan]</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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Categories: 2024 US Presidential candidates, Anti-abortion activists, Anti-LGBT bigots, Billionaires, Business, Conservative deceit, Former United States Governors, Gun nuts, Living people, Propagandists, Racists, Right-wing activists, Transphobes, Trump administration, U.S. Cabinet Members