Billionaire and longshot presidential candidate Doug Burgum says he would NOT do business with Trump
Billionaire and longshot presidential candidate Doug Burgum says he would NOT do business with Donald Trump, but Elon Musk because ‘you are judged by the company you keep’
- Longshot 2024 candidate and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum said on Sunday he would not do business with Donald Trump
- He said he would vote for Trump in 2024 if he ran against President Joe Biden
- Burgum said he would do business with Elon Musk, pointing to ‘track record’ difference between Trump and the owner of Twitter and Tesla
Longshot 2024 candidate and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, 66, said on Sunday he would not do business with former President Donald Trump, but would do business with Elon Musk.
However, the billionaire says he could see himself voting for Trump as president again.
“I voted for him twice, and if he runs against Biden, I will absolutely vote for him again,” Burgum said at a campaign event Friday in New Hampshire.
He called the decision to vote for Trump if he won the 2024 nomination a “no-brainer.”
Burgum, who ran for office in June, made his billions from a tech company he sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion.
Longshot 2024 nominee and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum said on Sunday he would not do business with Donald Trump — but has said he would vote for him in 2024 if he ran against Biden
He told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that he would not do business with fellow businessman and 2024 candidate Trump.
“Would you ever do business with Donald Trump?” NBC host Chuck Todd asked Burgum.
He replied, ‘I don’t think so. I just think it’s important that you are judged by the company you have.’
However, Burgum would do business with billionaire Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk.
“Just look at the business track record, I’d say, and I’d look at that before making a decision about who you’re working with,” the North Dakota governor said when questioned about the difference between Trump and Musk as businessmen.
The husband and father of three attended Stanford Business School after graduating from North Dakota State University. He started his entrepreneurial career early on by starting a chimney sweep business in North Dakota and reaching the Associated Press for freezing weather business in Fargo.
At Stanford, Burgum befriended Steve Ballmer, who would later become CEO of Microsoft.
After graduating from college, he mortgaged his farmland for $250,000 to provide seed capital for accounting software company Great Plains Software in Fargo, North Dakota. Burgum joined the company in 1983. He became president in 1984 and sold it to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion.
“I just think it’s important that you’re judged by the company you keep,” Burgum said when asked why he wouldn’t do business with Trump — noting that he would do business with Elon Musk because he’s a better has track. file’
Burgum was named Senior Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions Group after selling his software company to the technology giant and remained with the company until 2007.
In 2016, Burgum became governor of North Dakota and is now running for president.
The 2024 longshot has been less decisive than other candidates for whether he would pardon Trump if he became president. A few are determined to be pardoned while Trump is under criminal investigation.
In an interview with Hugh Hewitt last month, Burgum said on the subject, “You’re asking me a hypothetical question about something two years from now, when we don’t even know if this will go through or if there will even be a conviction.”