Trump Suggests He Appointed Doug Burgum to Cabinet Because Wife Is Attractive: ‘I Saw Them Riding Horses…’
Willa Pope Robbins
Fri, January 30, 2026 at 12:12 AM UTC
2 min read
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President Donald Trump suggested that he hired Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum because his wife was attractive, claiming on Thursday he initially wanted to work with Burgum because “anybody that has somebody like” that indicates success.
Trump made his remarks from the Oval Office while signing an executive order to address drug addiction, where he was joined by, among others, Doug and Kathryn Burgum. Mrs. Burgum spoke in support of the bill, discussing her own recovery from addiction.
At the close of the event, the president said he first saw the couple in a video, where it was Kathryn– not Doug– that caught his eye.
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“I saw them riding horses in a video and I said, ‘Who is that?’ I was talking about her, not him,” said Trump, gesturing to Kathryn. “They explained it, and I said, ‘I’m going to hire him’ because anybody that has somebody like you to be with– it’s an amazing tribute.”
Trump continued to laud the couple, twice claiming that Burgum’s wife was “a big part” of the former governor’s success.
“It’s a great couple, amazing couple, and she is very much a part of his big success. He was a fantastic success, as you know, having been one of the most successful business people. I saw him campaigning, great governor, two-term governor. He did a fantastic job– North Dakota,” said Trump. “And he’s done a great job and I’ll tell you what, Kathryn is a very big part of it. I see it. It’s just really one of the fantastic couples.”
Burgum was allegedly the president’s initial choice for Vice President in 20204, before his sons convinced him to select JD Vance. According to an NBC report, Trump backed off from picking Burgum after Donald Trump Jr. sent him a Breitbart article detailing Karl Rove’s support for the governor.
The post Trump Suggests He Appointed Doug Burgum to Cabinet Because Wife Is Attractive: ‘I Saw Them Riding Horses…’ first appeared on Mediaite.