EDIT: Since this article was posted, Gov. Noem has endorsed former President Donald Trump for president. She said, “I will do everything I can to help him win and save this country. Ladies and gentlemen, the 45th and the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”
According to a recent report, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has backed off of her original skepticism of former President Donald Trump’s 2024’s bid and now is considering backing him in the race by giving her endorsement.
Gov. Noem had previously rose to prominence among the GOP, despite what was widely characterized as a misstep on the transgender individuals in sports issue, because of her keeping South Dakota open during Covid and refusing to back down on that issue. However, despite being considered alongside Gov. DeSantis for 2024 because of her Covid response, Gov. Noem never took the plunge.
Her full reasons why were never articulated, though the most likely explanation is that she saw the situation more accurately than Gov. DeSantis and reasoned that, with Trump in the race, no one else could possibly win. Such is what she told “Fox & Friends” in August, saying, “The fact is, none of them can win as long as Trump’s in the race. And that’s just the facts. So why run if you can’t win.”
Continuing, she said she wouldn’t jump into a losing race and that she appreciated much of what Trump did as president, particularly his willingness to let governors run their states with a freer hand, saying, “I’ve probably run 10 statewide races. I’ve won them all. I’ve never lost. If I get into a race, I’m gonna win. So that’s just how we do it. And President Trump did some great things for our state and for our country. As governor — and everybody should be grateful for this — he let me do my job. When he was president, he let me do my job, and I appreciate that. Biden doesn’t do that.”
Asked at the time whether she would endorse Trump, she said that he is “inspirational” and that she would consider endorsing him if he asked, saying, “He is inspirational. People always show up to hear something interesting. And yeah, you’ll hear something from me, too.” She added, “You know, he hasn’t asked me, so we’ll cross that bridge — we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I don’t really answer hypotheticals.”
Well, he might have asked or she decided to get ahead of the curve, as CNN reported that Noem could jump behind Trump as soon as today, Friday the 8th of September. That outlet reported: “South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is expected to endorse former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in her home state Friday, two sources familiar with the plans tell CNN, fueling speculation about the role the Republican governor may play in his third bid for the White House.”
Trump endorsed Gov. Noem in her 2022 reelection bid, saying, “She is strong on Borders, the Second Amendment, preserving land and Energy Dominance, Medical Freedom, and kept South Dakota open during COVID. She fully supports our great Law Enforcement, Military, our wonderful Vets — and is a fighter for the incredible people of South Dakota.”
Featured image credit: By U.S. Department of Agriculture – Flickr: 20130305-OSEC-LSC-1303, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25955495
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