The media demands everyone be as obsessed with Trump as they are, and if we don’t comply, leftists like George Stephanopoulos will scold you. More evidence of this came during ABC’s This Week when co-anchor Stephanopoulos had North Dakota governor and GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum on the show to presumably discuss his campaign and instead insisted on haranguing him about the latest indictment of Trump. Burgum didn’t take the bait and instead pointed out how Hunter Biden and his endless list of crimes haven’t been mentioned on the show. This only set Stephanopoulos off further.
Stephanopoulos again asked Burgum his thoughts on the allegations that Trump forced then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the 2020 election. “Was Donald Trump wrong when he pressured Mike Pence not to certify? Was Mike Pence right when he certified?”
Burgum replied in frustration that he had just “listened to 15 minutes of legal debate on this thing and I'm sure you could run it again 7/24. But what I know is that I'm running against Joe Biden and that's what we're going to be talking about.”
“Of course, not a mention in the last 15 minutes of, you know, Hunter Biden or the laptop,” Burgum observed. “There are people on the ground that are not watching these Sunday programs that are saying, you know, why is the DOJ defending Hunter Biden and why are they attacking President Trump?”
He then tried to explain to Stephanopoulos why real Americans don’t trust people like him and why trust in our institutions are fading: “It does seem political to people and I think the folks in Washington have to understand that, you know, if they're surprised why Trump’s leading the polls it is basically people pushing back and saying, hey, we don't trust the system. And that's a bigger problem for America.”
This forced an irritated Stephanopoulos to interject: “I'm asking you what you think. Do you have an opinion on the fact that President Trump tried to overturn the election as alleged in the indictment this week by special prosecutor Smith?”
Burgum just ignored his demands and explained that President Biden loves this talk about Trump 24/7 “because then we don't have to talk about inflation or Afghanistan or the Russian invasion, the fact we're in a cold war with China. And who else loves it, China loves it when America’s divided like this and talking about the past.”
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To read the transcript, click “expand”:
ABC’s This Week
8/6/2023
9:25:25 a.m. Eastern
2 minutesGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Was Donald Trump wrong when he pressured Mike Pence not to certify? Was Mike Pence right when he certified?
DOUG BURGUM: George, again, I just have to say you guys—I just listened to 15 minutes of legal debate on this thing and I'm sure you could run it again 7/24. But what I know is that I'm running against Joe Biden and that's what we're going to be talking about and, of course, not a mention in the last 15 minutes of, you know, Hunter Biden or the laptop. Americans out there do concerned. There are people on the ground that are not watching these Sunday programs that are saying, you know, why is the DOJ defending Hunter Biden and why are they attacking President Trump? It does seem political to people and I think the folks in Washington have to understand that, you know, if they're surprised why Trump’s leading the polls it is basically people pushing back and saying, hey, we don't trust the system. And that's a bigger problem for America–
STEPHANOPOULOS: But I’m—hold up. But Governor, I'm asking you what you think. Do you have an opinion on the fact that President Trump tried to overturn the election as alleged in the indictment this week by special prosecutor Smith?
BURGUM: I'm not a lawyer. I'm an entrepreneur and I'm someone who leads and operates businesses. That's something I care about the people of this country and you're asking me, you know, basically a legal question, we're focused on the future. There are just so many people that want to weigh in on this topic around the clock and you know who loves it when all we do is talk about this? Of course, President Biden does because then we don't have to talk about inflation or Afghanistan or the Russian invasion, the fact we're in a cold war with China. And who else loves it, China loves it when America’s divided like this and talking about the past. This is perfect. This is how democracies fall, is when citizens lose confidence in their institutions. When I'm President, the number one thing we're gonna probably have to do is rebuild trust in the actual institutions that are the foundational thing. Because right now, Americans are not trusting. That's the signal that you're getting is that people don't trust the system and that's a scary thing for our country.
