Campaign

Burgum suffers basketball injury, may miss GOP debate

by Caroline Vakil - 08/23/23 10:01 AM ET

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum gestures as he speaks — Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the state Capitol on April 10, 2020, in Bismarck, N.D.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) injured himself while playing basketball Tuesday, making it unclear if he’ll be able to attend the first GOP debate Wednesday, a spokesperson for his campaign confirmed.

Burgum was playing pickup basketball with members of his campaign when he got injured, and was later transported to an emergency room in Milwaukee, according to CNN, which was the first to report the news.

A spokesperson for the Burgum campaign confirmed that the North Dakota governor suffered an ACL tear but would still be doing a pre-debate walkthrough. A determination will be made later about whether Burgum joins the other seven candidates on the debate stage.

Burgum brushed off the incident in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, saying “I’ve played lots of pick-up games in my day! This isn’t the first time one has sent me to the ER. Appreciate all the well-wishes! #TeamBurgum,” and posted an older photo of him playing basketball

Other GOP candidates offered positive thoughts to Burgum on X.

“Wishing Doug Burgum well,” biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy wrote. “Looking forward to seeing him on stage tonight.”

“Praying for your speedy recovery, @DougBurgum,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) posted.

Burgum is one of eight candidates set to participate in the first GOP presidential debate Wednesday night. He was slated to stand next to Scott on the far right side of the debate stage, according to a standing arrangement plan shared by Fox News.

The North Dakota governor has seen little traction since entering the race, and missing the debate could be devastating in that it would deprive him of a chance to introduce himself on a larger national stage.

Burgum is one of several lesser-known candidates who was set to be on the stage. Former President Trump, far-and-away the GOP front-runner, is skipping the debate but sat down for a prerecorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that will be released at 9 p.m. — just as the debate is set to begin.

—Updated at 2:55 p.m.