Fox & Friends not so subtly signaled they think Gov. Burgum would make a great Trump running mate.

On Monday's Fox & Friends, cohost Brian Kilmeade joined Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) in North Dakota and suggested that the tech and venture capital multimillionaire is really just a regular country guy.

“We went to where he’s most comfortable,” Kilmeade said, “on his ranch/slash farm.” After slobbering over the size of Burgum’s property, we saw a photo of a young Burgum as the present-day version said, “I grew up as someone who loved being outdoors.”

Kilmeade broke in to make sure viewers got the message. “That was something you intentionally wanted to do. You wanted to raise your kids, give ‘em a sense of the outdoors. Why?”

Burgum said he also wanted them to get a sense of being “connected to the land” and to North Dakota and “understanding where food comes from.” He didn’t mention how much easier it is farm and ranch if you’ve got at least $100 million from other, unrelated businesses in the bank.

“And how unbelievable is it, almost insulting to get regulations coming from Washington, who people don’t even understand what ranchers and farmers do?” Kilmeade “asked.” Let’s be clear: Kilmeade grew up in the New York suburb of Massapequa, NY, on Long Island, where he still lives today. There isn’t a single farm or ranch listed in its business category list for the town.

In other words, Kilmeade probably couldn’t name, much less discuss, a single regulation related to farming or ranching. Not that Burgum seemed to care. He was there to knock federal regulations. “Nobody cares more about the land, the water, the air, the soil health than the people living on it,” he announced. Translation: Burgum thinks he deserves to be the decider of laws that affect others.

As it turns out, Burgum is vocally supporting a project that will ride roughshod over other people’s "connection to the land." CNN reported today that he’s “set to decide on [a] massive pipeline project that’s pitting his rural constituents against GOP megadonors." That massive carbon dioxide project the megadonors want includes “seiz[ing] property rights from rural landowners in his state.” One farmer told CNN, “’It’s been very disheartening to see how our governor has not held true to what the promises were for the farming and ranching community’ about protecting property rights.” Those megadonors have given to both Burgum and Trump.

Not that Massapequa Kilmeade brought it up. He raved that Burgum is “investing” in North Dakota.

In case top Fox fan Donald Trump hadn’t gotten the message yet, Kilmeade “asked,” “What do business people know about running things that help them to become better politicians?”

That gave Burgum the opportunity to praise Trump as a “leader” who’s “really good at understanding politics.” Interestingly, Burgum said nothing about Trump’s business ability.

A bit later, Kilmeade said, “I know where you really want to be, You want to be on a?”

“Horse,” Burgum said.

“And are they here?” Kilmeade asked, as if he didn’t know they would be.

“We’ve got them and we can’t wait to get on them,” Burgum said.

We next saw Kilmeade, Burgum and wife Kathryn on horses. “I can't believe you've done the impossible. You got me on a horse!” Kilmeade gushed. Before long, Burgum and his wife cantered away.

Later, the gushing continued as Kilmeade spoke with his Fox Friends and cohosts back in the studio. "It's pretty amazing the kind of life he cut out for himself, and instead of waiting for some people to rebuild Fargo, he's helped rebuilt it himself. More people are coming to North Dakota now than when he took over," Kilmeade effused.

That’s when cohost Steve Doocy breathlessly called Burgum "a genius visionary" because “in 1983!” Burgum invested in a software company “which back, then, nobody did.”

Then, after a lot of teasing of Kilmeade about his “horsemanship,” Massapequa Kilmeade went to talk to Fargo diners, undoubtedly pre-screened to be Maga/Burgum friendly.

This segment was a lot like Kilmeade’s love-fest “interview” with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he was Fox’s “it” candidate.

You can watch the Burgum version below, from the July 1, 2024 Fox & Friends.