SIMI VALLEY, Calf. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum struggled to get equal airtime with other candidates in his second GOP presidential debate appearance Wednesday night, and at times had to press hosts to be heard.
It wasn’t until half an hour into the debate that Burgum had an opportunity to weigh in on a topic, and he had to speak up to get called on. As hosts moved on from a question about the ongoing autoworkers strike, Burgum spoke up.
“I’m sorry. I have to jump in, because we’re missing the point. And every other network is missing the point,” Burgum said, attempting to connect the strike to the Biden Administration’s electric vehicle policy.
Burgum would have to struggle with the hosts for nearly two hours to get airtime in the debate, which aired on Fox Business and Univision. Fox News hosts Dana Perino and Stuart Varney and Univision anchor Ilia Calderón moderated the debate.
At one point, Perino threatened to cut his microphone off after he continued to push to speak on a topic. Hosts only asked him questions four times, and for the rest of the night, he had to assert himself more to get time.
First Lady Kathryn Burgum, middle right, is visible behind the Fox Business moderators, in the front row of the audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during the Republican National Committee’s 2nd presidential debate on Sept. 27, 2023.
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Of the seven candidates who shared the debate stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Burgum by far had the least speaking time. Burgum spoke for 7 Minutes and 39 seconds, and tailed former Vice President Mike Pence by nearly 2 minutes, according to an analysis from CNN.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy tallied 12 minutes, 20 seconds, and DeSantis totaled 12 Minutes, 8 seconds. Both are leading in the polls of the candidates who appeared on stage.
Moderators of the debate did not ask Burgum a question until nearly 45 minutes into the broadcast when Univision host Ilia Calderón asked Burgum what he would do about gun violence in America.
“I think that the liberal left … seems to be just completely bent on prosecuting law-abiding citizens that are gun owners,” Burgum said, adding that the issue of gun violence is best addressed by enforcing existing gun laws and addressing behavioral and mental health issues.
Burgum, who has centered his campaign around the economy, energy and national security, and is the governor of the nation’s second-largest oil-producing state, didn’t get the opportunity to weigh in on a question about energy after several other candidates got to speak on the issue.
Though after being passed over on that question, hosts asked him about U.S.-Mexico border policy and later gave him a question Perino said Burgum would “really like” on how he would protect farmers and ranchers in the U.S. from economic retaliation from China. That question gave Burgum an opportunity to speak on foreign policy.
Republican U.S. presidential candidates pose together before the start of the second Republican candidates’ debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday Sept. 27, 2023.
Mike Blake/Reuters
When speaking on border policy, Burgum noted that he did not get a chance to speak on energy policy, and said he already has an established record with the pro-energy, pro-oil and gas policies promoted by the other candidates.
Burgum qualified for the second presidential debate on Saturday after gaining 3% support in a national poll — a level he struggled to hit for months. He’s tailing the rest of the pack in the GOP primary, and exposure on the debate stage gives him the opportunity to introduce himself to the public and contrast himself with other candidates.
The first GOP debate in Milwaukee did not give Burugm a boost in the polls, and the governor said he planned to be more assertive in the second debate in order to be heard. Burgum did attempt to interject more in the second debate, but even with one less candidate on stage than in the first debate, Burgum still got less airtime.
Besides Burgum, DeSantis and Ramaswamy, debate participants included: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
GOP frontrunner Former President Donald Trump, who has not pledged to back the GOP’s nominee, skipped the debate again, and instead gave a speech to autoworkers in Michigan. Trump has more than half of GOP primary voters’ support, most polls show.
2023-09-28 04:04:51
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