North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum—a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination—was injured Tuesday while playing a game of pick-up basketball, CNN reported Wednesday, raising concerns about whether he will be able to take the stage Wednesday night for the first Republican presidential primary debate.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was injured during a pickup basketball game in Milwaukee, CNN ... [+]
Burgum was taken to a Milwaukee emergency room Tuesday after suffering an undisclosed injury while playing pick-up basketball with his staff, CNN reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation.
The injury has called into question whether Burgum will be able to physically stand during the debate, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Burgum is scheduled to join seven other Republican presidential hopefuls who qualified for the first debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Burgum is one of many GOP candidates attempting to gain traction as the frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, has chosen not to attend Wednesday's debate and instead sit for an interview with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson. Trump continues to dominate in the polls and is ahead of all his competitors by nearly 40%, a FiveThirtyEight polling average showed. Burgum is currently averaging 0.4% in the same polling average.
Burgum made headlines last month for implementing a creative way to meet the GOP’s rules to join the debate stage. Burgum promised to send $20 Visa or Mastercard gift cards to anyone who donated $1 to his campaign. While he called the cards “Biden Economic Relief cards,” they also served as a way for Burgum to meet the required 40,000 unique donation threshold required as one of the qualifications for Wednesday’s debate.
The candidates are scheduled to visit the site of the debate Wednesday afternoon ahead of the 9 p.m. ET start time. It’s unclear if Burgum will take part in that tour, CNN reported.
First On CNN: Burgum Injured Playing Basketball, Throwing Debate Attendance Into Question (CNN)
GOP’s Burgum Dishing Out $20 To Anyone Making $1 Presidential Campaign Donation (Yes, Really) (Forbes)