State of the Union: Interview With Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND)
Interview
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Well, Dana -- and, first of all, great to be with you.
But I think what the message would be is that we might not even be in this position if we had an energy policy in the United States where we said we're going to sell energy to our allies, as opposed to buy it from our adversaries.
I mean, the whole reason that Putin had the ability to invade Ukraine in the first place was, he knew that all of Western Europe was dependent on his energy. And so, in the United States, we seem to -- the Biden administration seems to want to separate energy policy from national security. We can't separate those two things.
And then, of course, now we have put sanctions on Russian oil. And then what happens then? Russia is selling oil at sometimes 20 percent to 30 percent discount off world market. To who? China, China the world's largest importer of oil. They import over 10 million barrels a day.
And then, when we're negotiating with China, we're not talking about energy policy, because we're trying to regulate U.S. energy out of business.
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So I think a lot of this was avoidable in the first place.
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Well, I think, at this -- this moment shows the cracks within -- with Russia and Putin losing his grip on that country.
We have an opportunity, along with our NATO partners, to -- in this situation to really get behind and support Ukraine. Let's give them the support they need. Let's get this -- let's get this war over now, instead of having it be protracted.
And, of course, what's been going on with the Wagner Group, I mean, this is not just a recent thing. This is a 10-year-old organization with over 65 different shadow companies around the world that's driving Russian influence and taking over Syrian oil fields, gold mines in the Central African Republic, interfering in Latin America.
And all of that is really an extension of -- it's another oligarch that Putin is in line with. And this whole deal, I mean, I don't know that Prigozhin is gone. I mean, if he's going to Belarus, where -- which is Putin's other oligarch buddy that was taking now Russian nuclear tactical weapons, I don't know that he's really gone from the scene.
I think there's a lot -- a lot of instability here. And this is an opportunity for the United States and NATO to really secure a position of strength in Eastern Europe.
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Well, first of all, Dana, I don't think a dozen candidates is too many. Competition is great for America. It's great for any industry, and it's great for the Republican Party, and it's great for our voters to have choices.
But, within that, I mean, one of the differentiators is, when I grew up in a teeny little town in North Dakota working on the farm, working on the ranch, working at the grain elevator, even working as a chimney sweep to pay my way through college, it wasn't until my -- until long after college that I actually had a job where you took a shower in the morning versus one that you took at the end of the day.
I mean, having a president who understands what American workers have to do to deal with the inflation, with the high energy costs of the Biden administration, that -- that makes a difference. And I also -- as someone who's had -- built global businesses and been a governor, I have got some unique strengths, the only person that's ever worked in technology -- and, of course, technology is the -- changing every job, every company, and every industry.
It hasn't changed much in government. And that's one thing we have seen in North Dakota. We have been able to take billions of dollars of cost out and, at the same time, lower taxes, improve the effectiveness, and really drive our economy forward.
North Dakota is on the way to having the highest GDP of any state in the nation. So, I think we've got -- I have some unique strengths to bring. But our real focus is going to be on the economy, energy and national security. Those are the things that a president should focus on.
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And that's what we will do when we're in the White House.
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Well, I believe strongly that the federal government overreaches in so many different areas.
And I support the Dobbs decision. It should be left to the states. When -- when I'm in the White House, we're going to make sure that we return the power to the states. The Constitution defines what the limited role for the federal government is. And that does include making sure that we have things right on economy and energy and national security, including the security of our borders.
Many of these other things that presidential candidates and the current administration get dragged into really belong not just to the states. Sometimes, it belongs to a city commission, a county commission, a township board, a library board, or maybe the family themselves, because, you know, if we're going to be a country of freedom and liberty, then we need to make sure that we're focused on innovation.
That's what's driven our country forward, not regulation, not coming up with a rule that tries to inject a viewpoint on everything.
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Our -- America is super diverse, and we need to make sure the federal government stays focused on its role.
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Thank you, Dana.
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