Catherine Rusoff
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday defended controversial passages in her upcoming book as she faces scrutiny over a series of anecdotes, including a false claim about meeting Kim Jong Un, a story about killing her dog and a phone call with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, where Noem said she felt “threatened.”
In an anecdote that motivated questions, Noem claimed to have met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. She told “CBS Mornings” on Monday that the anecdote should not have been included in the book and is being adjusted, and her publisher, Center Street, confirmed on Sunday that the anecdote would be removed. But Noem did not respond to a question about whether the meeting with the North Korean leader actually took place. There is no public record of her visiting North Korea or meeting the reclusive Kim.
“I have met with many, many world leaders. I traveled around the world,” she said on “CBS Mornings.” “I shouldn’t have put that joke in the book.”
The Republican governor said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that she would not discuss details about her meetings with world leaders or her travels. When pressed by moderator Margaret Brennan about whether she had been to North Korea, Noem insisted that she had been to the DMZ – the demilitarized zone that separates North Korea from South Korea.
CBS News
Noem also defended her description of the call with Haley, after which she said she felt “very threatened.”
“Words matter,” Noem said on “CBS Mornings,” describing the call in which she alleged Haley said she would tell her, with long pauses, if she heard bad things about her.
Noem said it was clear from the call that Haley “was the lone wolf and that there was no room for another Republican woman in politics.”
Noem was considered among a list of possible running mates for former President Donald Trump in his final bid for the White House. But questions have emerged about her political future in recent days as she faces intense backlash after writing in her new book about the murder of her dog decades ago.
In her book, titled “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem writes that the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket showed aggressive behavior while training the dog for pheasant hunting. She said Monday that the decision to kill the dog “was extremely difficult for me.”
“The purpose of telling the story was to let people know that I don’t pass my responsibilities on to anyone else,” she added.
Noem’s appearance on “CBS Mornings” came one day after she kicked off her book tour in “Face the nation,” where she was asked about a passage in her book about President Biden’s dog, Commander, who was known for biting people in the White House. In the book, Noem writes that if she reached the White House, she would say“Commander, say hello to Cricket.”
Noem said the “president should be held accountable” for the dog, and when Brennan asked, “Are you saying he should be shot?” Noem responded again: “That’s what the president should be accountable to.”
After Sunday’s interview on “Face the Nation,” Noem tweeted that she had been repeatedly interrupted and accused the “fake news media” of double standards.
