CNN’s Kaitlan Collins questioned a surrogate for Donald Trump on Tuesday, asking if the former president knows who he is running against. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum appeared on the edition of The Source on a day when Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Despite President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid last month, Trump has continued to target both Biden and Harris in his rhetoric. On Tuesday, Trump posted a rant on Truth Social, alleging that “Kamabla” Harris conspired with “Barrack HUSSEIN Obama” to steal Biden’s presidency.
Trump speculated that Biden might attempt to take the nomination back from Harris at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Collins asked Burgum about Trump’s continued focus on Biden: “Because Trump keeps posting about Joe Biden. And today he’s saying that Biden’s gonna come in and crash the Democratic convention maybe, and try to take the nomination back and run again. I mean, does he realize that he’s running against Vice President Harris, not Joe Biden anymore?”
Burgum responded, “Well, I think he knows exactly who he’s running against, but we’re also running against Joe Biden [who] was a creation of a ruling coalition. And that same ruling coalition of Democrats were the ones that said, ‘Hey, we’re pulling the plug on Joe Biden. Joe Biden didn’t voluntarily do this. You know… the donors and the powers that be caused this to happen.’”
While Biden faced significant pressure to drop his reelection bid, he had secured enough delegates to win renomination. Ultimately, he decided to step aside, allowing Harris to become the Democratic nominee.
The discussion highlighted the confusion and mixed messaging surrounding the current state of the presidential race. As Trump continues to address Biden in his statements, it raises questions about his awareness of the updated political landscape and his actual opponent, Vice President Harris.