Gov. Doug Burgum (R) of North Dakota said that during a call in which Trump reportedly told Burgum he would not be his running mate, the former president seemed to offer an invitation to serve in his Cabinet if he wins a second term in office.
“Well, I got a call and a great conversation with the president. And he said, ‘Hey, Mr. Secretary.’ He’s always been so positive and so considerate to [my wife] Kathryn and I this whole time,” Burgum said.
“But, as you know, Kaitlan, we were never running for a Cabinet position, never running to be V.P. As a sitting governor, I’ve got 152 days left of the greatest job in the nation, being a governor of North Dakota right now,” he continued.
Prior to the former president’s announcement of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate on Monday, Burgum was among the leading candidates to be chosen as Trump’s vice presidential nominee.
During the Republican National Convention on Monday, Burgum spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on how he was informed by Trump that he would not be his running mate.
After he withdrew from consideration to run for the Republican presidential nomination, Burgum embraced Trump earlier this year.
He has since frequently represented the former president in interviews and public appearances as a surrogate.
Along with Vance, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) were mentioned as possible running mates for the outgoing president.
Trump declared Vance the choice on Monday, and later that day at the convention, the two received formal nominations to run on the Republican ticket.
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