Doug Burgum shows up to Republican debate in crutches, walking boot after basketball injury

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WASHINGTON- Doug Burgum is trying to pull a Willis Reed.

The 67-year-old North Dakota governor showed up to Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate walkthrough hobbling on crutches and wearing a boot on his left leg after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during a pickup basketball game with members of his staff

Burgum was taken to the emergency room Tuesday night and released from a local hospital Wednesday morning, with his status for the showdown an open question.

The Fox News debate is expected to last two hours, with candidates expected to remain on their feet the whole time.

Burgum initially appeared to mouth “I’m feeling good” to reporters in the “spin room” at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.

“It’s not ‘Dancing With The Stars’. I’d have to scratch if it was that,” he said. “So, pain’s not a factor.”

However, he later cast doubt on whether he would be able to go, telling reporters: “We’ll find out after I go to the doctor and see what he says.”

Reed famously suffered a torn thigh muscle during Game 5 of the 1970 NBA Finals. After missing Game 6, he limped out of the Madison Square Garden tunnel moments before Game 7 and scored the first four points of the contest, leading the Knicks to their first world championship.

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Burgum will be the second-oldest of the eight candidates participating in the debate, behind only 72-year-old former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Former President Donald Trump, 77, decided to snub the debate, citing his strong lead in the polls.

“Wishing Doug Burgum well. Looking forward to seeing him on stage tonight,” fellow GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Burgum’s sports injury comes after several Republican presidential candidates have been posting videos online of them engaging in physical challenges in what appear to be attempts to show off their vitality despite their advanced age.

For example, Hutchinson on Sunday posted a video of himself being launched high in the air on a “slingshot” ride at the Iowa State Fair.

“I made you a promise. I said that if you all helped me reach the debate stage, I would ride the Slingshot at the #IowaStateFair. A deal is a deal and I keep my promises,” he wrote on X.

Even the youngest candidate to join the debate, 38-year-old Ramaswamy, is taking part in the trend.

He posted videos of himself fiercely swatting at tennis balls while shirtless and challenging his wife to a burpee contest at the couple’s home gym.