北达科他州州长。道格·伯根正在寻求2024年共和党总统候选人提名的奥巴马周日基本上拒绝参与进来共和党领跑者唐纳德·特朗普1月6日的起诉书.

但他在美国广播公司的“本周”节目中承认，“我相信乔·拜登赢得了选举”，这是他第一次这样说。

在这一声明之后，布尔根告诉《本周》节目主持人乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯:“我相信我们必须走向未来。”

斯特凡诺普洛斯一直在敦促布尔根就特朗普挑战2020年选举结果的所谓行为发表看法:“这不仅仅是一个法律问题，先生。这是个道德问题。这是一个伦理问题。这是一个关于公民学的问题。”

在Burgum出现的早期，Stephanopoulos说:“我知道你想谈论你的竞选和未来，但事实是唐纳德·特朗普现在是领先者。他面临三项重罪指控。你读过起诉书了吗，你对它们有什么反应?”

这位州长避免评论他是否读过特朗普的三项重罪起诉-特朗普否认所有这些指控-以及他对特朗普的看法向当时的副总统迈克·彭斯施压是错误的不认证2021年1月6日的选举结果。

“在被证明有罪之前，每个人都是无辜的，”Burgum说，并补充说，“我们应该讨论能源、经济和国家安全。”

他还表示，他认为2020年的“选举存在违规行为”，尽管我们的法院没有选举官员证实任何足以改变任何结果的欺诈行为。

Burgum认为，前两个初选州的选民没有兴趣讨论特朗普越来越多的指控，如果他们有兴趣，他们可以简单地消费任何关于它的持续新闻报道。

根据Burgum的说法，公众关心的是他作为总统候选人关注的一些问题，包括通货膨胀，边境安全，美国与中国的关系以及阿片类药物过量流行。

“有一整个行业围绕着评论特朗普总统而建立，我会把它留给专家们，”他说。“我的意思是，我们今天的处境是，当我们在爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州与选民交谈时，他们不会问关于起诉的问题。”

2023年7月28日，北达科他州州长、2024年共和党总统候选人道格·伯根在爱荷华州得梅因的爱荷华州活动中心举行的爱荷华州共和党2023年林肯晚宴上发表讲话。

塞尔吉奥·弗洛雷斯/法新社

Burgum是一名前企业高管，在州长的第二个任期内，于6月份开始了他的白宫竞选。据FiveThirtyEight报道，他目前在共和党候选人的最底层进行民意调查。

在这条路上，布尔根很少说出特朗普的名字，如果有的话。

“我们有机会改善每个美国人的生活。我们必须展望未来。不是过去。伯根在“本周”节目中说:“总统竞选应该是关于未来的，而不是关于过去的，这就是我们将这种声音带到这场竞选中的原因。”

他说，共和党选民每天都在怀疑特朗普为什么受到指控，如果他当选，他会寻求恢复机构的可信度。“华盛顿的人们必须明白，如果他们对特朗普为什么在民调中领先感到惊讶，那基本上是人们反击说，‘嘿，我们不信任这个系统，’”布尔根说。

斯特凡诺普洛斯插话说，再次询问伯根姆的个人观点:“你对特别检察官史密斯本周在起诉书中指控特朗普总统试图推翻选举的事实有什么看法?”

他继续回避这个话题。

“我不是律师。我是一名企业家。我是一个领导和经营企业的人。我关心这个国家的人民，而你问我的基本上是一个法律问题。我们关注的是未来，”伯根回答道。

随后在采访中，Stephanopoulos接着说:“你没有回答我关于领先者的问题，你需要击败他才能成为共和党的总统候选人。...你相信特朗普总统已经取消了自己的资格吗?”

“大多数美国人都不知道道格·伯根是谁。努力向人们解释是竞选的工作，”他说。“当我做生意的时候，我们还是一家初创公司....我们并没有一开始就说，'哦，我们认为领先的人都有这些问题。'我们讨论了我们可以为客户做些什么，我们可以为我们的合作伙伴做些什么，我们可以做些什么来改善他们的生活和业务。"

他接着说:“我们得到的每个问题都是关于过去而不是未来的。我在为美国的未来而竞选。我们将在每一站都继续讨论这一点。”

Doug Burgum repeatedly declines to weigh in on Trump's Jan. 6 charges: 'We have to move on'

North Dakota Gov.Doug Burgum, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, largely refused on Sunday to weigh in onGOP front-runner Donald Trump's Jan. 6 indictment.

But he acknowledged in an appearance on ABC's "This Week" that "I believe that Joe Biden won the election," marking the first time on the trail he has said that.

Following that declaration, Burgum told "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos: "I believe that we have to move on to the future."

Stephanopoulos had been pressing Burgum for his view on Trump's alleged conduct in challenging the 2020 results: "It's not simply a legal question, sir. It's a moral question. It's an ethical question. It's a question about civics."

Early in Burgum's appearance, Stephanopoulos said, "I know you want to talk about your campaign and the future, but the fact is that Donald Trump is the front-runner right now. He's facing three felony indictments. Have you read the indictments, and what's your reaction to them?"

The governor avoided commenting on if he had read Trump's three felony indictments -- all of which Trump denies -- and his opinion on if Trumpwas wrong in pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pencenot to certify the election results on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Everybody's innocent until proven guilty," Burgum said, adding, "We should be talking about the energy, economy and national security."

He also said he thinks "there were irregularities in terms of how the election went" in 2020, though no election officials our courts have confirmed any fraud large enough to change any of the results.

Burgum argued that voters in the first two primary states are not interested in discussing Trump's mounting charges, and if they are they can simply consume any of the constant news coverage about it.

What the public cares about, according to Burgum, are some of the same issues he has focused on as a presidential candidate, including inflation, border security, the United States' relationship with China and the opioid overdose epidemic.

"There's an entire industry built around commenting on President Trump, and I'll just leave it to the pundits," he said. "I mean, we're in a position today where when we're out talking to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, they're not asking about the indictments."

Burgum, a former business executive in his second term as governor, launched his White House bid in June. According to FiveThirtyEight, he currently polls in the bottom tier of GOP hopefuls.

On the trail, Burgum rarely utters Trump's name, if at all.

"We have an opportunity to improve every American life. We've got to be looking to the future. Not to the past. Presidential campaign should be about the future, not about the past, and that's what we're bringing that voice to this to this campaign," Burgum said on "This Week."

He said that everyday Republican voters are suspicious of why Trump is being charged and if, elected, he would seek to restore institutional credibility. "The folks in Washington have to understand that if they're surprised why Trump is leading the polls, it is basically people pushing back and saying, 'Hey, we don't trust the system,'" Burgum said.

Stephanopoulos interjected, again asking Burgum for his personal view: "Do you have an opinion on the fact that the President Trump tried to overturn the election as alleged in the indictment this week by special prosecutor Smith?"

He continued to distance himself from the topic.

"I'm not a lawyer. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm someone who leads and operates businesses. I care about the people of this country -- and you're asking me basically a legal question. We're focused on the future," Burgum replied.

Later in the interview, Stephanopoulos followed up: "You're not answering my questions about the front-runner who you need to defeat in order to become the presidential candidate for the Republican Party. ... Do you believe that President Trump has disqualified himself?"

"Most of America doesn't know who Doug Burgum is. It's the job of a campaign to try to explain to people," he said. "When I was in business and we were a startup .... We didn't start by saying, 'Oh, we think the guys that are in the lead have got all these problems.' We talked about what we could do for the customer, what we could do for our partners, what we could do to improve their lives and their businesses."

He went on to say: "Every question we get is about the past and not the future. I'm running for the future of America. And we're going to keep talking about that at every stop."