South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appeared furious as she was repeatedly questioned about a fake meeting with Kim Jong Un and the killing of her dog on Sunday.
Noem, who was once considered a favorite to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate, repeatedly frowned when asked by journalist Peter Alexander about the controversies she has faced in recent months.
But Noem continued to dodge questions about a dubious claim in her memoir that she once met with the North Korean dictator and once again defended the murder of her pet dog, Cricket.
And when asked point-blank by Alexander if she thinks the story about her killing her dog cost her the chance to serve as Trump’s vice president, Noem appeared to side-eye Alexander when she declared that Trump “needs to elect someone to help him.” gain.’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appeared furious as she was questioned about a fake meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and her chances of becoming vice president on Sunday.
Noem frowned repeatedly when asked by journalist Peter Alexander on Sunday about the controversies she has faced over the past few months.
Noem was widely considered to be at the top of the list of potential running mates for the former president until her book was published in May.
In one section of the book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How we Move America Forward, Noem describes meetings with international leaders, and mistakenly includes North Korean leader Kim Jung Un.
“During my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders: some who wanted our help and some who did not,” he writes in the book.
‘I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no idea of my experience looking at petty tyrants (after all, he had been a children’s shepherd).’
The description of an alleged meeting between the UN and itself was quickly questioned and called implausible by experts on US-North Korea relations, and was removed from subsequent editions.
But Noem has refused to explain in any interview why the allegory was included.
“There was no evidence that meeting had occurred,” Alexander questioned on Meet the Press on Sunday.
—So how did it come to appear in your book, Governor?
His book initially claimed that he once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but was later amended to remove the anecdote.
Still, Noem declined to respond.
“I’m not going to talk about that,” he said, shaking his head and blinking repeatedly.
“I took that line out of my book and I’m not going to talk about it.”
Noem has faced a series of controversies since the publication of her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
That response sparked a back-and-forth between South Dakota’s governor and Peter Alexander, who moved on.
—You wrote the book, so why did that line appear in your book if that didn’t happen? she asked.
But once again, Noem dodged the question, simply stating, “I wrote the book and I hope people read it.”
Still, Alexander persisted, asking him once again: “To make it clear once and for all: did you meet with Kim Jong Un or not?”
“I’m not going to talk about this,” Noem responded, bluntly.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Noem spokesperson Ian Fury blamed Noem’s ghostwriter.
“We were informed that the upcoming book ‘No Going Back’ has two small errors,” Fury said. “This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor.”
‘Kim Jong Un was included in a list of world leaders and he shouldn’t have been. The Governor spoke with Nikki Haley in 2020 and met with her in 2021,” he added.
Fury called the analysis of the errors in Noem’s book biased, saying, “The media, of course, will try to make these small issues into huge ones.”
Before her book was published in May, Noem was widely considered to be on former President Donald Trump’s top list of potential running mates.
At another point in Sunday’s interview, Alexander asked Noem directly if she thought an anecdote about the murder of her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket, cost her her chance to be Trump’s vice president.
She has said she took care of her “untrainable” dog the right way, taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting him after aggressive behavior such as killing the neighbors’ chickens and trying to bite her.
Critics, however, say Noem, who shot her dog while her children were at school, could have rehomed the dog or surrendered to a shelter that might have been better equipped to train the animal.
“I would say it’s a 20-year-old story about how I protected my children from a vicious animal,” Noem responded Sunday.
“So we’ve covered that, and any mother in those situations – when you have an animal that brutally kills livestock and attacks people – it’s a difficult decision, and the reason it’s in my book is because that book is full of challenging moments and difficult decisions.’
She attempted to relaunch her vice presidential campaign earlier this month with a self-produced film in which she presents herself as an animal devotee.
As bad news about the book spread, Noem He stopped his book tour in early May and returned to South Dakota in reaction, citing bad weather in the state that demanded their attention.
She attempted to relaunch her vice presidential campaign earlier this month, with a self-produced film in which she attempts to present herself not only as a political titan, but as an animal devotee who has always taken special care of critters – including a scene that has the governor with a small dog in the background.
But an anonymous senator told The Hill that the dog-killing story ruined her chances of being vice president.
“It just ended, too much drama,” said a Republican senator who knows Trump’s thinking on the matter.
Trump has since said he chose his running mate, but has yet to tell anyone of his decision.
The former president just said that the chosen one would attend the presidential debate on Thursday.
Noem admitted Sunday that she did not receive any paperwork to veto her as a candidate.
On Sunday, Noem admitted that she had not received any documents to vet her as a candidate.
“I’ve had conversations with the president and I know that he is the only one who will make the decisions about who will be his vice president,” Noem told Alexander, dodging any questions about why she couldn’t have been chosen.
However, Alexander pressed on.
“You said that having a woman on the ticket would help Donald Trump win. And he said on this show last year that he liked the concept of running with a woman,” she said.
—As you know, there are only men on your short list at the moment: Burgum, Vance, Rubio. Would Donald Trump be making a mistake if he doesn’t choose a woman as his running mate? he asked.
“You know, I think he needs to pick the best person for the job,” Noem responded, without answering the question.
‘You need to choose someone to help you win. And I think President Trump is in a fantastic position to win this election.
‘He is strong, he is right in all policies. “He needs to elect someone who will help him win and make sure he gets back to the White House fighting for America,” he continued, narrowing his eyes once again.
Trump is believed to make an official announcement about his choice of running mate at or shortly before the Republican National Convention in July.