- Governor of the United States: Kristi Noem’s Story is a 45-Minute Documentary
- She returns after backlash over a story about shooting a dog in her book.
- The film attempts to humanize Noem and present her as an animal lover.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says she grew up “a girl who loved animals” in a new documentary intended to boost her chances of being Donald Trump’s running mate.
Noem, who returned to cable news a couple of weeks ago after a month-long hiatus, disappeared amid backlash from promoting a book that featured an anecdote about how she shot her fourteen-year-old dog ‘Cricket’ months, sparking public outrage.
Governor of the United States: The Kristi Noem Story is a self-produced film that attempts to humanize the once-rising star of the Republican Party.
“(The film) is a compelling 45-minute documentary that delves into the life and political journey of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem,” the film’s website says.
The film was directed by Shawn Rech, who has primarily made religious documentaries and films highlighting the stories of wrongfully convicted murderers, and was produced by the Cleveland-based company Transition Studios.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says she grew up “a girl who loved animals” in a new documentary intended to boost her chances of being Donald Trump’s running mate.
Noem attempts to present herself not only as a political titan, but also as an animal devotee who has always taken special care of the creatures, including a scene that has the governor with a small dog in the background.
“So from when I was five or six years old, even all the neighbors knew how much I loved animals and they would bring me random animals that they found or that needed care or care,” he says in the film.
Noem’s mother offers testimony shortly after, talking about a time when a young Kristi rescued a cat.
‘Even if the livestock sale barn had a donkey or a goat or something like that that no one bought that day, they would call my dad and say ‘Kristi wants this?’ So that was my passion and my love,” Noem said.
Noem was widely considered to be at the top of a list of potential running mates for former President Donald Trump until her book was published, unleashing an avalanche of criticism from dog lovers around the world.
The Republican governor attempted to continue her book tour, but the story of how she shot her dog consumed all the news coverage and media interviews surrounding her book.
Noem finally stopped her book tour in early May and returned to South Dakota. quoting bad weather in the state that demanded their attention.
Trump later said in an interview that Noem had had a bad week, but that he was still a fan of the South Dakota governor, who had been “a supporter of mine from day one.”
Noem, who returned to cable news a couple of weeks ago after a month-long hiatus, disappeared amid backlash from promoting a book that featured an anecdote about how she shot her fourteen-year-old dog ‘Cricket.’ months, which exploded in the media
Noem tries to present herself not only as a political titan, but also as a devoted animal lover who has always taken special care of the creatures.
Trump said in an interview that “people in different parts of the country probably feel a little differently” about the story of her killing her dog, but admitted it was a difficult controversy.
“He had a bad week,” Trump said. “We all have bad weeks.”
But if Noem was ever a serious running mate candidate, it appears she didn’t make the short list.
The list reportedly includes North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Tim Scott of South Carolina, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. .
Noem said she didn’t care if she was chosen as Trump’s running mate, but said choosing a woman would be an advantage for his campaign.
“I think that would be beneficial,” he said. “Based on the polls I’ve seen for him, in a lot of swing states, having a woman helping him campaign makes a difference.”
