Fox News Makes Ex-GOP Presidential Candidate Squirm About Past Trump Comments

Robyn Beck

Former Republican presidential candidate Doug Bergum was called out by a Fox News reporter for his endorsement of Donald Trump—despite having previously said he would never want to do business with him.

Bergum, the billionaire governor of North Dakota and former rival of Trump’s for the GOP’s presidential nomination, was a virtual non-entity in the race before dropping out of it in early December.

On January 14th, shortly before the Iowa caucuses, Bergum publicly endorsed Trump for the presidency.

During an interview four days later with Fox News reporter Martha McCallum, the governor was asked to reconcile his endorsement of Trump for the presidency with public remarks he made during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press in July 2023 that he wouldn’t do business with Trump.

“But you said you’re known by the company you keep and you wouldn’t wanna do business with him,” McCallum asked, after Bergum said he’d been in Trump’s “corner since 2016.” 

“I’m just giving you a chance to comment on that,” she continued. “Do you not feel that way now or was that campaign talk or—how would you characterize it?”

“In six months, I’ve only positive things about President Trump,” Bergum stammered. “This one clip comes up and it’s funny: nobody in the national media asks me if I’d do business with Joe Biden.”