Burgum defends using ‘dictatorship’ to describe Biden administration

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) doubled down on his past comments that referred to the Biden administration as a “dictatorship.”

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed Burgum on “State of the Union” about why he has been referring to President Biden’s White House as a “dictatorship,” noting that it’s not a dictatorship just because he disagrees with Biden’s policies and executive orders. Collins played a series of clips in which Burgum described Biden as leading a “dictatorship” on CNN.

“Well, I think again, part of where this word has come from has been a nonstop media attack on President Trump saying that, oh, that he might use executive orders when he takes office,” Burgum replied.

Collins then noted Trump “signed 220 executive orders when he was in office. President Biden so far has only signed 139, the same time span.”

She also asked him if he was calling the “democratically elected president a dictator.” He responded by referencing a number of executive orders issued by Biden, suggesting that the president is bypassing other branches of government.

“So 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. He’s doing that without using the other branches,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Democrat National Commitee (DNC) blasted Burgum’s comments in a statement. 

“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,” said Alex Floyd, a spokesperson for the DNC.

 A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll last year found that 56 percent of those surveyed at least somewhat agree that Trump will act like a dictator if given a second term. Trump has made comments suggesting that he would act as a dictator if reelected president, but only on “day one.” 

The Biden campaign is looking to capitalize on these past remarks for Biden’s debate preparation, according to a memo released last month. A super PAC supporting Trump tried to paint Biden as a dictator after the former president’s remarks last year sparked backlash.

Updated at 3:12 p.m.