'What a joke': Trump VP-hopeful Doug Burgum trolled as he's fact-checked on calling Biden 'a dictator'

WASHINGTON, DC: In a heated interview on CNN's State of the Union, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was fact-checked by host Kaitlan Collins regarding his claims that President Joe Biden is acting like a dictator.

Burgum's accusations focused on Biden's use of executive orders, a contentious issue among political observers and partisans alike.

Doug Burgum's claims and Kaitlan Collins' challenge

Burgum, who is considered a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly labeled Biden as a dictator. In one of the clips played during the interview, Burgum stated, "This is what's happening under Joe Biden. We're actually living under a dictatorship today."

Collins, filling in for Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, confronted Burgum directly, saying, "I understand you don't like President Biden's policies on immigration or student loans, but respectfully, you're calling the democratically elected president a dictator?"

Burgum defended his stance by arguing that Biden has bypassed Congress more than any other president.

"We've got three branches of government and this president, more like any other, has bypassed Congress," Burgum stated. "Because as a governor of a natural resources state...we're facing over 30 rules and mandates, each one of those could be 800 pages to 1400 pages long."

He specifically cited Biden's actions on student loans and environmental regulations as examples of executive overreach.

"On the student loan thing, when the Supreme Court ruled against him, then he just said, 'Hey, we'll figure a different way to do it.' I just think that there's again, a double standard here. He is bypassing the other two branches of government to push an ideological view whether it's on economics or whether it's on climate extremism," Burgum added.

Biden's administration has indeed focused on agenda items such as canceling student loan debt and promoting clean energy. On his first day in office, Biden reinstated over 100 environmental regulations that had been rolled back by Trump.

Additionally, the Department of Education announced that Biden's administration had approved $167 billion in student loan forgiveness for over 4 million Americans after the Supreme Court struck down Biden's original plan to forgive about $430 billion of federal student loan debt.

Joe Biden's response and Donald Trump's influence

When reached for comment, Biden's campaign referred Newsweek to Alex Floyd, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Floyd responded via email: "Doug Burgum is sucking up to a convicted felon who has threatened a 'bloodbath' if he loses, called to 'terminate' the Constitution, and pledged to be a dictator on 'Day One.' Donald Trump is running on an extreme anti-democracy agenda—and the only reason Burgum is able to spew lies like this is because of our country's basic rights and democratic institutions that Trump is putting at risk."

Trump's rhetoric and actions continue to loom large over the Republican Party. His "bloodbath" comment, made during a rally in Dayton, Ohio, was ostensibly about the potential loss of US auto manufacturing jobs under another Biden term.

Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, clarified the remark saying, "If you actually watch and listen to the section, he was talking about the auto industry and tariffs."

Collins probed Burgum during the interview, saying, "You don't like his executive orders and you don't like his policies. I understand that. I don't think anyone expects the Republican governor to agree with President Biden on that. But it's not a dictatorship."

The governor responded, "There's been a non-stop media attack on [former] President Trump saying that he might use executive orders when he takes office. I was trying to make the point here that under this current administration, most of the changes that are driving inflation in our country, the stuff [Biden's] not doing on the border, which he could be doing with executive orders—I mean the open borders and the inflation are things that he's doing by himself alone, ignoring the other branches of government."

Collins pushed back on Burgum's assertions by pointing out that Trump had signed more executive orders than Biden. "Well, I counted, Trump signed 220 executive orders when he was in office, President Biden so far has only assigned 139, the same time span," Collins said.

According to the Federal Register, Biden has signed 139 executive orders so far, while Trump signed 220 during his tenure. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush signed 277 and 291 executive orders, respectively, Newsweek reported.

Doug Burgum trolled on social media

Burgum's statements and subsequent fact-checking by Collins sparked a wave of mockery on social media.

"That’s weird cause I remember people like Doug Burgum demanding that Joe Biden sign executive orders regarding the border and then as soon as Biden does it, they call him a dictator," one posted on X.

"What a joke he is!" another wrote.

"Anyone claiming Biden represents a 'dictatorship' should move to North Korea," someone else insisted.

"These people are dumb. Evil but also dumb," read a comment.

"Republicans create the reality in which they wish to dwell with the lies they spew," another chimed in.

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