Some of President Trump’s most ardent fans online say that North Dakota’s governor, Doug Burgum — one of many potential vice presidential candidates — should be put on this year’s GOP ticket for one simple fact: He looks like what artificial intelligence says a modern George Washington would look like. 

The joke that Mr. Burgum looks like the nation’s founding father began spreading online during his own presidential campaign last year, when X users pointed out that the governor resembled some AI-rendered images of what Washington might look like if he were alive today. 

Mr. Burgum was asked about it during Larry Kudlow’s show on Fox News on Sunday. At the end of the segment, Mr. Kudlow said, “You look like George Washington … How long have you looked like George Washington?”

“Apparently about ten seconds,” the governor said with a laugh. “This is news to me.”

One pro-Trump influencer online who helped kick off the Burgum–Washington comparison goes by the name “johnny maga.” He says the resemblance between Mr. Burgum and America’s first president is uncanny. 

“Wow,” the user wrote of a photo comparing Mr. Burgum to Washington’s presidential portrait. In another post, the user wrote that Mr. Burgum had “1776 physiognomy,” along with a photo of the governor standing outside of the Manhattan courtroom where Trump was on trial. 

Another conservative activist named Philip Reichert referred to the North Dakota governor as, “Future VP Doug ‘George Washington’ Burgum.”

Even some in the press concede that there should be more attention paid to the fact that the governor somewhat resembles Washington. “Not enough Doug Burgum stories on the simple fact that he looks like George Washington,” a New York Times congressional reporter, Annie Karni, said. 

A conservative reporter and former Republican congressional candidate, Matthew Foldi, agreed with Mr. Kudlow’s assertion that the governor resembled Washington. “Can’t unsee this,” Mr. Foldi wrote in response to the video of Mr. Burgum being asked if he looked like the first president. 

One influencer, Ryan Selkis, said both Mr. Burgum and Senator Vance would be “excellent picks” to be vice president, but noted the governor’s appearance as a special benefit. “Burgum looks like what you’d get if you prompted AI: ‘recreate George Washington, but for 2024,’” Mr. Selkis wrote. 

“Guy’s straight out of Central Casting,” johnny maga wrote in another post, accompanied by a photo of Mr. Burgum on CNN. Earlier, he posted a photo of the governor riding a horse at a rodeo, presumably in North Dakota, wearing jeans and a cowboy hat, and waving an American flag. 

The same user also praised Mr. Burgum’s lineage as a descendant of the first settlers of North Dakota, saying the governor “has pioneer DNA.”

Not only has Mr. Burgum been praised for his Founding Father-esque appearance, but his ability to defend and praise Trump on cable news. The governor has been a near-constant presence on television since becoming a key surrogate for the former president a few months ago, and has been moving from green room to green room since speculation began that Trump would choose him as the vice presidential candidate.