NBC host Kristen Welker confronted Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), a surrogate for Donald Trump, after the former president called supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris “garbage.”
“Governor, let me ask you about a big story this week, the campaign continuing to deal with the fallout from the offensive comments about Puerto Rico made by a supporter of former President Trump by that comedian at that rally last weekend,” Welker told Burgum in a Sunday interview. “The Puerto Rican community in Pennsylvania factors almost half a million people in that critical state, some saying they were absolutely furious about the comments, hurt that former President Trump hasn’t apologized.”
“Do you think that this incident could cost former President Trump the state of Pennsylvania, which is critical to winning?” she asked.
Burgum dismissed remarks made about Puerto Rico by a comedian at a recent Trump rally.
“I mean, there was not approval from a very supportive Trump audience,” the governor said. “It’s not how President Trump feels.”
Burgum also pointed to remarks made by President Joe Biden that seemed to refer to Trump supporters as garbage.
“Well, speaking of that, Governor, former President Trump had this to say back in September on that point about garbage,” Welker noted before playing a clip of Trump calling Harris supporters “scum” and “garbage.”
“So, Governor, is it hypocritical to fixate on President Biden’s comments, considering Donald Trump used the word garbage to describe Kamala Harris’s supporters?” Welker asked.
“Well, I think what again, what we’re seeing here again this week, again, and whether the parsing of comments from the last seven days is not what’s going to determine the election,” Burgum scoffed. “There’s always been there’s always a lot of name calling in the last week. This has all happened before.”
