Former President Donald Trump could instill “fear” in North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum by nominating him as his possible running mate in this year's presidential election, former Republican Governor Ed Schafer warned Sunday.

Burgum is considered the favorite to be Trump's vice presidential nominee, as speculation continues about who the former president will choose. Speculation about Burgum has been fueled by reports that the two have developed a close personal friendship and that the governor frequently campaigns for him.

Burgum initially ran against Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, but soon backed out and endorsed him. The two-term governor is a conservative businessperson and could be considered a safe bet for Trump, offering a similar balance to what Mike Pence did for Trump's 2016 campaign.

He is also one of the richest politicians in America and once sold a software company to Microsoft for over a billion dollars.

Jonathan Martin, senior political columnist at Politico, wrote in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday about an interview he conducted with Burgum and other Republicans about the ongoing speculation that the North Dakota governor could be Trump's running mate.

“I spent a few hours with Burgum, a few days in the Dakotas, and wrote about a very real prospect: Trump II could be shaped by a group of ordinary Republicans from the Great Plains,” Martin wrote.

Martin also interviewed Schafer, who served as governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000. According to the columnist, Schafer said Trump could instill “fear” in Burgum, adding that his association with Trump was not a “good start.”

“Knowing Trump a little and Doug well, that might cause Doug some anxiety from time to time,” the former governor said.

In a separate X-post, Martin wrote: “Schafer, whose father used his fortune from founding Mr. Bubble in the 1960s to initially restore Medora, has been vocal in his concern that the fact that Burgum is 'inextricably linked to Donald Trump will not give him a good start to 2028.'”

Moreover, Schafer seemed to have targeted Burgum, saying that if he “does this to be president, he'll fit better in the Cabinet.” He added that if he wanted to be vice president, Burgum would have to be “a little Donald Trump.”

Newsweek has emailed Burgum's office for comment.

Meanwhile, Burgum explicitly stated on Fox News last week that he would be happy to serve under Trump if he is elected to a second term.

“I have no concerns whatsoever about being in this administration,” he said. “I supported President Trump in early 2016, I supported him in 2020, and I was one of the first to support him this year. And at least in our state, there was a world of difference between President Trump being in office and President Biden.”

Burgum announced in January that he would not run for another term as governor of North Dakota, fueling speculation that he was interested in the vice presidency.

However, some experts have already pointed out that Burgum's nomination could be a mistake and that Trump should instead choose a woman as his vice presidential candidate.

Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at Britain's University of Surrey, says Trump will choose a vice president who “will not overshadow him.”

“Trump’s choice of vice president will be all about Trump,” he said earlier Newsweek. “[Mike] Pence was the perfect vice president for Trump until January 6, 2021. He didn't steal all the attention and took many of the shots for the 45th president. He was relatively competent and never posed a threat.”

He added: “Trump has a long history of surrounding himself with sycophants and underlings. There would be nothing worse for him than to choose a running mate who could potentially overshadow him.”

Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has indicated that he will announce his vice presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention beginning on July 15.

Meanwhile, Burgum has repeatedly deflected questions about whether he would be Trump's vice presidential candidate.

“I know there's a huge amount of interest in the current process around the vice presidential issue, but I think it's clear that President Trump, winning in every demographic, can win the whole thing,” he told Fox News' Sean Hannity on June 19.