A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, January 21, 2024 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.

       MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC "THIS WEEK" CO-ANCHOR: Joining us now is North Dakota Governor, and former 2024 candidate, Doug Burgum, who has now endorsed Donald Trump.

       Good morning to you, Governor. Thanks for joining us this morning.

       You spent more than $12 million of your own money to run for president, saying you had the best chance of pulling the country together. You are now endorsing Donald Trump. So, you believe he has the best chance of pulling the country together?

       GOV. DOUG BURGUM, (R) NORTH DAKOTA & (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Martha, I'm endorsing Donald Trump because I've had an opportunity to serve as governor under President Trump and under President Biden. President Trump and I were both elected on the same day back in November of 2016. I had endorsed him then. I endorsed him in 2020.

       And as we know, during the time that President Trump was in office, I mean we had peace and prosperity in America. And under President Biden, we’ve got chaos around the world. You know this better than anyone. You’ve traveled more. You know the countries. But between the Middle East, Eastern Europe, what’s going on with China, the world is on fire and – and our – as – when I was campaigning, we were running on three things, the economy, on energy policy and national security and how those three things are all interrelated. And Joe Biden is taking us in the wrong direction on all of those, 180 degrees the wrong direction, and – and not – I'm confident that President Trump is – he’s going to be right on the economy, right on energy policy, and right on national security.

       RADDATZ: Let’s talk about something else that is very important. Free and fair elections are the heart of our democracy. You have said that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. So, why would you support someone who falsely claims that the election was stolen over and over and over again?

       BURGUM: Well, as – as you and I would both agree, free and fair elections are the – the – the foundation of our democracy. In states like North Dakota, we’ve got 100 percent confidence in – in that happening. But whether it’s 1960, the year 2000, 2016 there was – there was concern raised by the – you know, the Hillary Clinton campaign 2020. This is something, as a country, that we’ve got to work hard to face (ph). And I think we’re slowly (ph) –

       RADDATZ: But – but, Governor – but, Governor, you have – you have said the election wasn’t stolen and you’re supporting someone who says it was.

       BURGUM: Well, I – I know that we’ve got – certainly we’ve got irregularities. When we went through COVID, and we had these mail-out ballots, that creates all kinds of opportunities for mischief. When you’re bailing out more ballots to a – in a state than there are registered voters, you know, I think we have (INAUDIBLE) that’s a problem.

       RADDATZ: Do you think the election was stolen now, sir? Sorry, do you think the election was stolen now? Now when you look back?

       BURGUM: No, I'm not saying that. But I'm just saying we – no, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I think that we have to – going forward, we look forward. We have to make sure that Americans have confidence in – in these elections because we know that when – we know that the social media companies and the media companies have admitted that they suppressed stories leading into the – the November 2020 election, that they’ve admitted to all that. And so Americans lack confidence in this, and that’s why – that’s why we’ve got to make sure going forward that we have confidence. Democracy doesn’t exist unless people can trust the outcome of an election.

       RADDATZ: And I – I want to talk about New Hampshire. It’s just days away. Donald Trump has taken to referring to his opponent Nikki Haley by her given name, a mangled version of that, Nimarata, the kind of thing he did with Barack Obama, using his middle name, Hussein. He’s also reported – reposted false conspiracy theories, saying she is not eligible to run for president because her Indian immigrant parents were not yet American citizens. She was born in South Carolina. Why do you think he is doing this?

       BURGUM: Well, I just – all I know is that I believe this election, the primary election is going to be over after Tuesday. President Trump is leading in all 50 states. We’ll be talking (INAUDIBLE) tonight. I think that’s the time –

       RADDATZ: No, please answer the question, sir. Answer the question about why you think Donald Trump is doing that.

       BURGUM: Well – I think it’s politics. You know, Joe Biden launched his campaign a couple weeks ago with a – a set of personal attacks on President Trump. He talked about, President Trump, he talked about the wall (INAUDIBLE) that they’re mobilizing to try to slow them down as a candidacy (ph). He didn’t talk about inflation. He didn’t talk about violent crime in our cities. He didn’t talk about the open border, where we’ve got a massive invasion and now we’ve had more fentanyl deaths than four Vietnams in our country under Joe Biden the last three years. No, he talked about attacking his opponent. That’s politics around the world and it’s politics in America.

       RADDATZ: So, do you think that’s the kind of politics that Donald Trump is using going after Nikki Haley’s heritage that will bring the country together?

       BURGUM: I think that the – I think you could ask me the question about, you know, what did Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris say the – you know, the vicious things they said about Joe Biden even during debates nationally televised within that party. This is all in the norm inside of – for north – for politics in our country. But once we agree as parties, we get behind candidates. The Democrats got behind Biden in 2020. I'm confident Republicans are going to get behind President Trump because they’re concerned about the direction that this – the world – the world is going and the direction the United States is going.

       RADDATZ: I – I just want to say something quickly here. The campaign has made a huge issue of 81-year-old President Trump – President Biden’s age and mental acuity. But take a listen here to this clip of Donald Trump, the 77-year-old, when he confuses Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.

       (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

       DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They never report the crowd on January 6th. You know, Nikki Haley – Nikki Haley – Nikki Haley – you know they – did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything. Deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it. Because of lots of things, like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people.

       (END VIDEO CLIP)

       RADDATZ: Your reaction to that?

       BURGUM: Well, I – I've been on the campaign trail. And I know when you’re going around the clock it’s – it’s possible to, you know, to make – make – and on – say, use words that don’t fit into sentences. But I would say, you know, having been with the president last week in Iowa and in New Hampshire and watching him go for 20 hours a day, I know that he’s got – he’s got the strength, he’s got the experience to lead. And I think that if we’re going to have, you know, the gaffe tape, you know, run that this morning on Joe Biden, there wouldn’t be enough time on this show.

       So, I think it’s a – again, this is the choice that America's going to have and – and right now I – focusing on the policy. The policy’s on the economy, energy, national security. The world was safer and more prosperous under – under President Trump. And right now, the appeasement of Joe Biden, I mean, this looks like Neville Chamberlain's time, where the appeasement with Iran, I mean, funding Iran for – the terrorism that’s being funded by the Biden administration is putting Americans at risk around the world. And – and – and it’s a – whether it’s started with the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, which you’re familiar with, you know, or our failed – our failed sanctions against Russia – we’ve turned Russia into China’s discount gas station and now, you know, Russia was the largest supplier of energy to China. And China – China’s importing 10 million barrels of oil a day. They’re the most dependent country in the world on –

       RADDATZ: Governor –

       BURGUM: – on energy and – and then here we're with a set of energy policies that are empowering our – our – our – our adversaries, Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

       RADDATZ: Governor, we’re just – we’re just about out of time with you, but we thank you for your time this morning.

       MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Our thanks to Mary for that.

       We’re joined now by Biden Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks.

       Welcome to “This Week”, sir.

       I know you saw the gaffe by Donald Trump and you heard Governor Burgum’s response. But age and mental acuity are a big concern with President Biden among voters. Our recent poll with Ipsos found 69 percent of those polled do not think the president has the mental sharpness. That is up from 43 percent in May of 2020.

       I know these are polls, not votes. But how do you get past this issue?

       QUENTIN FULKS, BIDEN PRINCIPAL DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, first of all, thank you for having me on this morning, Martha. It’s great to be with you.

       Well, when it comes to the president’s age, we have a simple format (ph) for that, and that’s results. You know, age equals wisdom equals results and experience. And President Biden, because of his age, has come to the table and brought people together from both sides of the aisle to deliver results for the American people where there’d be historic, bipartisan infrastructure bill, where there has been bringing people to the table, the job creation, making sure that inflation is down, the president has been delivering results, and our best answer to this is to continue to communicate about the things that people care about, Americans care about.

       This election is not going to be about age. This election is about freedom and democracy and the fact that Democrats under President Biden’s leadership believes that people deserve more freedom, not less, and Republicans want to roll that back and rip it away.

       RADDATZ: Whether you believe the polling or not, and surely, you have polling of your own about age, that is what your opponents are hammering about President Biden. Donald Trump talks about it constantly.

       FULKS: Well, look, I think our opponents are hammering that because they have no platform and nothing else to think about. I’m sure it’s much easier for them to talk about age than it is to talk about the fact that they want to rip away a woman’s right to choose or take away reproductive freedom from a third of women across this country that are living under national abortion ban because of Donald Trump. I’m sure he’d much rather talk about anything except for that. I’m sure, it’s, you know, not good for them to talk about an economy that’s booming with job creation up, consumer sentiment up, inflation going down. It’s much easier for them to talk about age than it is to talk about those things.

       And so, they’re going to do anything and say anything to avoid talking about what’s really at stake. Donald Trump has come out of the gate saying that he pledges to be a dictator on day one, bragging about the fact that he ripped away a woman’s right to choose and took away her reproductive freedom. This election is about freedom and democracy and our campaign is going to stay focused on taking that case directly to American voters.

       While Republicans continue to try to distract from the fact that they have no platform, their vision for America is one that makes it less safe, and less personal freedom from individuals all across this country, and, of course -- so, of course, they’re going to do anything they can to avoid talking about those issues.

       RADDATZ: Well, Mr. Fulks, one of the things you have been talking about and the Biden campaign, you have said we could expect him to restore abortion rights guaranteed by Roe, ban assault weapons, cap the price of insulin for everyone, and forgive billions more in student loan debt.

       But he’s been trying to do that this term, it has not happened. How can you possibly think it will in the second term?

       FULKS: Well, you know, look, I would say that the president has forgiven $132 billion in student loans debt for millions of Americans and he has capped the cost of insulin.

       Look, when the president said that he wants to finish the job, these are the things that he talks about.

       (CROSSTALK)

       RADDATZ: Just for Medicare recipients.

       FULKS: And establishing office -- he’s established an office for gun violence prevention and we have to do more to ban assault weapons while Republicans under Donald Trump continue to say that we need thoughts and prayers when kids are being gunned down in schools.

       And so, this is a continuation of work that the president has already been doing and we’re going to continue to push to do more of that and communicate that to voters.

       RADDATZ: Just to remind, you need 60 Senate votes for abortion access and an assault ban weapon -- assault weapons ban.

       Let’s move on. Democrat Dean Phillips in Minnesota, the Minnesota congressman who is running a primary challenge to President Biden said for the first time, he would consider running on the No Labels ticket. Are you concerned about that, that it would take away votes from President Biden?

       FULKS: Look, Martha, at the end of the day, there’s only going to be two parties that have an ability to get to 270 electoral votes, and that’s going to be Joe Biden as a Democratic nominee and whoever emerges from the extreme Republican primary that’s going on right now. So, you know, look, we’re going to stay focused on the issues and make this about freedom and democracy. The Americans that have the most at stake understand that and they’re not going to be fooled by anything else.

       There are only two options of who’s going to be the president of the United States and that’s either Joe Biden or whoever the Republicans put forth and our campaign is going to continue to make sure that we’re delivering a message to draw that contrast about what this election is all about, and that’s restoring democracy and protecting freedoms from millions of Americans across this country.

       RADDATZ: Recent polls show the campaign is underperforming with Black voters compared to 2020 exit poll. South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn has said he is very concerned about this. Vice President Harris, I know you just saw that, told Mary the campaign has responded to the Black community’s needs. But if that’s the case, why has support for President Biden dipped?

       FULKS: Well, I think what a lot of people are expressing is urgency. They sense a sense of urgency because of the threat that Republicans posed to, you know, America right now and that’s precisely why the president and the vice president are running for reelection to make sure that that doesn’t happen.

       When it comes to African American voters, I want to be very clear about this, that no administration has done as much for the African American community, as President Biden and Vice President Harris. We’re talk about Black wealth being up 60 percent, the racial wealth gap being the lowest that it’s ever been in recorded history.

       We have to continue to take this message directly to African-American voters and our campaign has done that. We’ve come out of the gate with very large buys targeted at African American voters, organizing in their communities to send a clear signal that one, we don’t take them for granted, two, we recognize that we need to earn their support in this campaign, and communicate with them all the way that what’s this administration has -- all the work that this administration has done to make their lives better and that has to also be in juxtaposition to the contrast of what, you know, the Republicans are putting forward. There is going to be choice in this election and we have the choice about all the things that I’d just laid out that President Biden and Vice President Harris have done for the African American community, and what’s on the Republican side, which is ripping away healthcare, pledging to repeal the ACA, that would drive African American uninsured rates through the roof.

       RADDATZ: And, Mr. Fulks --

       FULKS: And so, that’s the choice that African American voters are going to have.

       RADDATZ: Well, we’re just about out of time but I thank you very much for that. We’ll see you again.

       MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC "THIS WEEK" CO-ANCHOR: That was ABC News Gaza-based producer Samy Zyara reporting on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. It’s just one of the challenges facing the Biden administration as concerns about escalating conflict throughout the region grow.

       Here to discuss it all is White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer.

       Great to have you here this morning. Mr. Finer.

       I want to start with this very serious attack in Iraq yesterday, ballistic missiles, rockets fired at al-Assad Air Base, injuring several Americans, possible traumatic brain injury. This follows an attack on Christmas day, where we had a very serious injury. What can you tell us about it this morning?

       JON FINER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, you’re right, Martha, it was a very serious attack using a capability of ballistic missiles that pose a genuine threat. Through the skill of U.S. forces, many if not most of those missiles were shot down before they impacted the base, but some of them got through. And the United States has demonstrated in the past, when these attacks have – have taken place in Iraq and Syria that we are going to respond. When we deem it’s necessary to reestablish and try to establish deterrence in these situations and to hold these groups accountable that continue to attack us.

       I'm not going to get ahead of any decisions the president may make, but you can be sure that we are taking this extremely seriously and we’ll have more to say about it soon.

       RADDATZ: We – we’ve got Yemen as well, where there are retaliatory strikes. But it goes to the point that they strike, we strike back, they strike harder, we strike harder. So, look at Yemen in this vital shipping lane. Even the president said it’s obvious the Houthis have not stopped their attacks on – on ships, including U.S. ships. So – so where does this end? It’s in this stage of tit for tat.

       FINER: I guess I’d say a few things about what’s happening in Yemen. One, these commercial vessels have every right under international law to apply the sea lanes that go around the Arabian Peninsula in the Red Sea and elsewhere. And the United States, and a coalition of our maritime partners, have established a presence in that region to try to safeguard their ability to do just that. This is not an attack just on the United States. This is an attack on the entire global economy and – and the world is standing up and saying they won’t tolerate that.

       In terms of how this is playing out, I think one thing that’s important to keep in mind is deterrence is not a light switch. It requires a pattern and a practice of activity over time and can’t be accessed based on a snapshot of what’s happening at any given moment.

       But the purposes here go well beyond deterrence. We are also seeking to degrade the Houthis ability to continue launching these attacks. They have stockpiles of advanced weapons provided to them in many cases, or enabled to them in many cases by Iran. And we are taking down – taking those – these stockpiles so that they will not be able to conduct as many attacks over time. That will take time to play out.

       But our approach is also diplomatic. We’ve imposed sanctions on the Houthis. We have gotten dozens of counties to issue statements condemning their attacks. We’ve gotten a statement from the U.N. Security Council resolution condemning these attacks and asserting the right to self-defense. And we are going to stay on top of this until/unless they stop.

       RADDATZ: But – but you – you mentioned Iran's role in these conflicts. Iran's foreign minister said the following on Wednesday, “the security of the Red Sea is tied to the developments in Gaza, and everyone will suffer if Israel's crimes in Gaza do no stop. All the resistance fronts will remain active. This could take a very long time.”

       What is your decision making when you are not going after Iran directly?

       FINER: First of all, I’d say we totally reject the justification and the rationale that because there is a conflict going on between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that entitles a group to take action, military actions, against the entire global economy, against shippers, frankly, from countries that have nothing to do with that conflict, who are traveling through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and other places. That is totally illegitimate under international law, and – and we stand wholly against it, as do our partners.

       Beyond that, we’ve said that Iran has been complicit and is involved in any number of these conflicts. We’ve said they were broadly complicit in the attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel on October 7th, even if they were not directly aware of it. You’ll find that they’re obviously strong supporters –

       RADDATZ: Right. So – so why not allow – military (INAUDIBLE) –

       FINER: They’re, obviously, strong supporters of Hezbollah in – in – in Lebanon, which is also waging attacks against Israel and they support the Houthis and the Shia militia groups that are attacking us in Iraq and Syria. We have held Iran responsible for this in a number of ways. First and foremost we have taken military action against sites in Iraq and Syria that are also tied to the IRGC, which supports these militias. We have said quite clearly that we hold Iran responsible for the groups, the proxies that – that it supports, and that it provides weapons to. Beyond that, I'm not going to sit here and say we are going to take this or that action ahead of decision making, but we have been quite clear and we have been quite willing to take action to hold Iran responsible for these attacks in the past.

       RADDATZ: And I want to turn to Israel and we just have about a minute left here but we cannot forget the horrendous attack on the Israelis, but you saw Samy there in the beginning. Look at the response. People are starving. More than 20,000 people have died. There’s devastating effects. You have said you had concerns about the way Israelis are conducting this war in the past and hope things changed. Have things changed and what do we do about them?

       FINER: First of all, Martha, you’re – you’re absolutely right that we have stood up for Israel's right to take defensive actions against Hamas so that this threat cannot be perpetrating against them again. But we’ve also been quite clear that the way in which Israel conducts this conflict is of great concern to us. We have been in – in recent days and weeks the beginning of a shift in the – in the phase of the conflict that we have been calling for, where we would like Israel to focus more on high-value targets, on Hamas leadership. And we have seen them start to do that. We think that has to continue to take place over the course of the weeks and days ahead.

       But we’ve also been quite clear that there needs to be more humanitarian assistance going into Gaza. They have taken some steps that have been constructive, opening a crossing from Israel into Gaza directly through Kerem Shalom. They’ve announced in recent days that they’re going to allow flour to be delivered to an Israeli port in Ashdod and then brought into Gaza. These are small, but consequential steps. But they are not – also not enough. And so we are going to continue to put the pressure on, and continue to try to work day in, day out in – in excruciating detail to make sure that the humanitarian assistance in Gaza is improved as this conflict shifts to a different phase.

       RADDATZ: OK, thank you so much for joining us. So much more needs to be done.

       The powerhouse roundtable is up next.

       We’ll be right back.