北达科他州州长道格·伯根(Doug Burgum)是一名共和党人，他在今年夏天早些时候参加了2024年的总统竞选，向选民推销自己是一名准备将小镇价值观带到大舞台上的候选人。
“我们需要一个明确专注于三件事的领导人:经济、能源和国家安全，”67岁的Burgum在北达科他州法戈的一次活动中对欢呼者说。
伯格姆在20世纪80年代创立了软件公司大平原软件公司。该公司最终上市，并于2001年被微软以超过10亿美元的价格收购。
伯根最近成为头条新闻撕裂他的跟腱密尔沃基共和党初选辩论前一天晚上，在一场篮球比赛中扭伤了肌腱。尽管受伤，伯根还是参加了辩论。
Burgum与ABC新闻的Linsey Davis谈论了他的生活和职业生涯，并公开了他决定竞选总统的那一刻。
北达科他州州长道格·博根，共和党总统候选人，正在接受采访。
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林西·戴维斯:简单地说，道格·伯根是谁?
道格·博古姆州长:道格·博古姆是一个在北达科他州亚瑟的一个有300人的小镇长大的孩子。这是一个成长的好地方。街道甚至还没有铺好。我是说，没有邮件递送。所有人，就像我说的，邻里互助。
[我]有两位了不起的父母的礼物。我父亲是二战时的海军老兵，我从他身上学到了勇气和牺牲，但他在我高一的时候去世了。我妈妈回去工作，帮助支付抵押贷款，使收支平衡，这是她给我的一个很好的教训，因为她有智慧、毅力和优雅。难以置信。
我和我的兄弟，我的堂兄一起在亚瑟打篮球长大。但是大学毕业后，在芝加哥工作的研究生院，看到我的第一台电脑，我说，“哇，这将改变世界。”并打赌这个农场将成为一家名为大平原软件公司的种子资本。
我们上市了，作为一家上市公司，我们取得了辉煌的业绩，被微软收购，然后我加入了这个团队，帮助建立了微软，让它走上了今天的轨道。
戴维斯:很明显，你的根深深扎在北达科他州。有传言说你的曾祖母甚至和乔治·卡斯特中校纠缠不清还赢了?这是真的吗?
伯根:是的，它绝对是——它写在北达科他州的历史上。她是卡斯特驻扎的林肯堡陆军哨所的女邮政局长，他试图回避她的责任。拿走美国的邮包，他把它们切开。她为此和他大打出手，并且赢了。书中还写道，早在19世纪90年代，她是这个国家第一个在早期大会中作为总统选举人投票的女性。
戴维斯:你还提到你在高中时是一名狂热的篮球运动员，现在仍在打篮球。对第一场辩论前一晚的那场比赛有什么遗憾吗?
我没有，一点也没有。运动对我很有好处。我一生中打了30多年篮球，跑了30多年田径，踢了30多年足球，打了30多年有组织的成人垒球。在所有这些事情中——你知道，爬山，滑雪这些本该要了我的命的事情——我从来没有脚踝或膝盖受伤。所以我已经过了里程保修期。就像，我只是，我很感激这份礼物，我已经有这么长时间没有受伤了，我完全有信心我会完全康复并重返赛场。这阻止不了我。
戴维斯:阿基里斯号现在怎么样了?
伯根:嗯，今天它做得很好，而且好得多。我不知道你有没有听说，我被记录在案了，因为它被一个用一条腿站立的人票选为有史以来最好的总统辩论。我很高兴拥有那个，但希望不要再做那个了。
戴维斯:你在上面的时候很痛吗?
伯根:当然，和任何一个受伤的人谈谈，他们都会证实这一点。
戴维斯:你认为对你最公平的批评是什么?
伯根:我不像其他一些政客那样优雅。
戴维斯:你对那些批评你为了得到1美元的捐款而赠送20美元的购物卡的人有什么看法?
伯根:首先，这是一个完全不恰当和错误的说法，因为做促销根本没有什么不恰当的。你得让某人有理由来看看，你知道，来你的网站看看。你知道，我们有成千上万的人，他们花了1美元买了20美元的礼品卡，现在回来捐赠了，因为他们和我们订婚了。这是启动这场运动的明智之举。
戴维斯:作为州长，在过去的一年里，你签署了八项反跨性别法案。北达科他州也有一些最严格的堕胎法。你会如何与那些在这些和其他问题上与你观点完全不同的人共事?
伯根:嗯，我认为这可以追溯到第十修正案，并考虑到Dobbs[v . Jackson Women ' s Health Organization]的整个问题，我支持并将其归还给各州，这就是它应该属于的地方。这不是联邦政府的责任，在纽约行得通的在北达科他州永远行不通，反之亦然。因此，这些事情中的一些需要留给各州，那才是它们的归属。
戴维斯:你还记得你说“我要竞选美国总统”的那一刻吗?
伯根:我知道。我和家人孩子在这里，我说，“我今天准备好做决定了。”大儿子乔说，“我觉得你应该大声说出来。我觉得你应该说出来。你应该大声说出来。
“我们去散步了。我们在这里，你知道，很美，穿过高高的草丛和树林。我说，这很难，我对我自己的孩子说，我说，“我是道格·伯根，我正在竞选总统。"
就在那一刻，你无法弥补，一只鹰从我们头顶上飞下来，就像一只美丽的大秃鹰。我们一整天都没看到一只。他们不住在这里。我们没有道具，你知道，秃鹰排队。但是它从我们头上20英尺的地方飞下来，当它发生的时候，我们都打了个寒战。
我没和任何人分享过，但我要和你分享。谢谢你的关心，琳西。
戴维斯:我问你的时候，你有点激动。那是什么情绪?
嗯，我想到我的父亲，我想到像他这样的人。我想到了他，因为我想到了——在美国历史上有80，000人，略多于80，000人失踪。所以我-竞选的决定与政治和热点问题无关。这关系到我们国家的安全，关系到我们子孙后代的未来，所以这是一个超级重大的决定，我对此非常重视。就像我说的，我们经营它是出于一颗服务的心。
戴维斯:你最大的优点是什么?
勇气。
戴维斯:最大的弱点?
你是在问我的致命弱点是什么吗?
戴维斯:(笑)是的，非常好。
显然，我的致命弱点就是我的致命弱点。
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on why he's running for president
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, jumped into the 2024 presidential race earlier this summer, pitching himself to voters as a candidate ready to bring small town values to the big stage.
"We need a leader who's clearly focused on three things: economy, energy and national security," Burgum, 67, said to cheers at an event in Fargo, North Dakota.
Burgum founded software company Great Plains Software in the 1980s. The company eventually went public and was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 for more than $1 billion.
Burgum recently made headlines aftertearing his Achillestendon during a pickup basketball game the night before the GOP primary debate in Milwaukee. Burgum took part in the debate despite the injury.
Burgum spoke to ABC News’ Linsey Davis about his life and career and opened up about the moment he decided to run for president.
LINSEY DAVIS: In a few words, who is Doug Burgum?
GOV. DOUG BURGUM: Doug Burgum is a kid that grew up in a small town -- Arthur, North Dakota, 300 people. And what a fabulous place to grow up. The streets weren't even paved. I mean, there was no mail delivery. Everybody, like I said, neighbors helping neighbors.
[I] had the gift of two amazing parents. My dad was a World War II Navy vet, and [I] learned from him courage and sacrifice, but he passed away when I was a freshman in high school. My mom went back to work to help pay the mortgage and make ends meet, and that was a great lesson from her, because she had wisdom and perseverance and grace. Incredible.
I grew up playing basketball in Arthur [with] my brother, my cousin. But then after undergrad, grad school, working in Chicago, saw my first computer and I said, “Wow, that’s going to change the world.” And literally bet the farm to become the seed capital for a startup called Great Plains Software.
We went public, had this fantastic run as a public company, got acquired by Microsoft and then I joined that team and helped build Microsoft to get it going on the track that it is today.
DAVIS: Clearly, your roots go deep here in North Dakota. Rumor has it that your great-grandmother even tangled with Lt. Col. George Custer and won? Any truth to that?
BURGUM: Yes, it’s absolutely -- it's written in North Dakota history. She was the postmistress at the Fort Lincoln Army post where Custer was stationed, and he tried to circumvent her responsibility. Taking the U.S. mailbags, he cut ‘em open. And she went to battle with him over that and she won. It’s also written that she was the first woman in the country to vote as a presidential elector in one of the early conventions, back in the 1890s.
DAVIS: You mentioned also you were an avid basketball player in high school, still playing basketball now. Any regrets about that pickup game the night before the first debate?
BURGUM: I have none, none at all. Sport has been so good to me. The amount of basketball I've played over my lifetime, ran track, played football, played organized adult softball for 30-plus years. In all of the things -- you know, climbed mountains, skied stuff that should have killed me -- I've never had an ankle or knee injury. So I'm way past my mileage warranty. Like, I'm just, I'm grateful for the gift I've had to be injury free for this long, and I'm fully confident I'll be fully recovered and back at it. It's not going to stop me.
DAVIS: How's the Achilles doing now?
BURGUM: Well, today it's doing great and much better. And I don't know if you heard, I'm in the record books, because it was voted the best presidential debate ever by someone standing on one leg. I'm happy to have that one, but hopefully don't have to do that again.
DAVIS: Were you in a lot of pain while you were up there?
BURGUM: Absolutely, and talk to anybody who's blown their Achilles and they'll confirm that.
DAVIS: What do you think is the fairest criticism about you?
BURGUM: That I’m not as polished as some of the other politicians.
DAVIS: What do you say to critics who say that it was legally dubious, I believe was the term, for you to give the $20 gift cards in order to get a $1 donation?
BURGUM: Well, first of all, that's a completely inappropriate and false statement, because there's nothing at all inappropriate about doing a promotion. You've got to get someone a reason to come and look, you know, come to your website and look. We've got, you know, thousands of people who gave a dollar to get the $20 gift card who've come back and now donated, because they got engaged with us. It was a smart way to get the campaign off the ground.
DAVIS: As governor, you had just this past year, you signed eight anti-trans bills into law. North Dakota also has some of the strictest abortion laws of any of the states. How would you work across the aisle with people who may totally differ from your point of view on those and other issues?
BURGUM: Well, I think this goes back to the 10th Amendment and take the whole issue of Dobbs [v. Jackson Women's Health Organization], which I support and returned it to the states and that's where it should belong. That's not a federal responsibility, and what works in New York will never work in North Dakota and vice versa. So some of these things need to be left to the states, and that's where they belong.
DAVIS: Do you remember the moment where you said, “I’m going to run for president of the United States”?
BURGUM: I do. I was out here with the family and kids and I said, “I’m ready to make the decision today.” And oldest son Joe said, “I think you should say it out loud. I think you should say it. You should just say it out loud.
”We went for a walk. We were out here, you know, beautiful, walking through the tall grass and in the woods. And I said, and it was hard, and I said to my own kids, I said, “I'm Doug Burgum, and I'm running for president.”
And at that moment, you can't make it up, an eagle flew down right over the top of us, like a big, beautiful bald eagle. We hadn't seen one all day. They don't live here. There's not one that we had prop like, you know, queue the bald eagle. But it literally flew down like 20 feet over our head and we all got the chills when that happened.
I haven't shared that with anybody, but I'm sharing it with you. Thanks for asking, Linsey.
DAVIS: As I ask, you got a little choked up about it. What is that emotion?
BURGUM: Well, I think about my dad, and I think about people like him. I think about him, because I think about the -- there's 80,000, little over 80,000 MIAs, in the history of America. So I -- the decision to run is not about, you know, politics and hot-button issues. It's about the security of our country, the future of our kids and our grandkids, and so it's a super big decision that I take super seriously. And, like I said, we ran it out of a heart of service.
DAVIS: Your greatest strength?
BURGUM: Courage.
DAVIS: Greatest weakness?
BURGUM: Are you asking what my Achilles' heel is?
DAVIS: [Laughs] Yes, very good.
BURGUM: Apparently, my Achilles' heel is my Achilles heel.
