Damage control: Gov. Kristi Noem's national ambitions sink

Media tour promoting new book cut short following savage interviews

At the start of spring, Gov. Kristi Noem’s national political fortunes were riding high. 

In March, Noem joined former President Donald Trump on stage in Vandalia, Ohio, to campaign for GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.

“We have a very special woman who’s hot as a politician,” Trump introduced Noem, both wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats. “She’s doing an incredible job in South Dakota.” 

Odds-makers put the governor in the top echelon of choices Trump was considering as a running mate in this year’s presidential race. While some practical reasons argued against Noem – South Dakota is reliably red with just three electoral votes – the two have a solid personal relationship. Trump also had expressed a desire to pick a female, and Noem had built a national brand during the Covid pandemic.

But her political fortunes have crumbled during a two-week run in the national spotlight – and a brutal news cycle of her own making. 

Following revelations that her newly-released book contained an account of Noem shooting her dog and a bogus claim that she met and stared down North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un – first reported May 2 by The Dakota Scout – Noem embarked on a media tour to promote “No Going Back: The Truth On What’s Wrong With Politics And How We Move America Forward.”

The media strategy resulted in punishing interview after punishing interview, starting with CBS’s Face the Nation on May 5.

“It was a disastrous interview,” Colorado-based Republican political consultant Dick Wadhams said. “It just was.”

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