Katherine Burgum applauds as her husband, North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum shakes hands with former U.S. President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump during the Caucus Night Watch party in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 8, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, is denying claims that the former president told oil executives that if elected, he would cut regulations in exchange for helping him raise money to return to The White house .
According to the Washington Post, Trump told several top managers of the country’s oil industry At a meeting with them earlier this year at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, he said he would roll back dozens of environmental regulations and policies put in place by the Biden administration and prevent new ones from being implemented. That is, if they raise $1 billion to re-elect him.
He said the donation would be a “bargain” because it would allow them to avoid taxation and regulation. Trump also reportedly told executives he would auction off additional leases for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I was at that meeting, but it didn’t happen,” Burgum said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “He didn’t ask for a billion-dollar donation and there was no quid pro quo.”
Burgum also denied that Trump was targeting the oil industry to fund his re-election, saying “he’s not targeting anyone” and is “doing what candidates do” by visiting and listening to industries that are “fundamental to the entire economy.” .
In January, Burgum endorsed Trump for president. He ended his bid to become the Republican nominee a month earlier, in December 2023, after launching his campaign in June of that year, and has since become Trump’s energy policy adviser.
Burgum’s family leases 200 acres of farmland in Williams County, North Dakota, to Continental Resources—the state’s largest oil and gas leaseholder—to pump oil and gas.
While his financial information shows he has earned up to $50,000 in royalties from the Continental deal since the end of 2022, experts told CNBC that he and his family business have likely earned thousands more since they signed with the company in 2009.
When asked whether his involvement with the energy industry is alienating young voters who say climate and environmental policies are important to them, Burgum “isn’t worried about that at all,” he said.
Burgum, who is also a software developer, announced earlier this year he said he would not seek a third term as governor. His second term will end on December 14.