South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Monday published a new book in which she tells the story of shooting and killing her young hunting dog and an unlikely anecdote about her meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. After receiving a lot of criticism, he defended himself.
Noem stood by her decision to kill her 14-month-old dog, Cricket. news nation Interview with Elizabeth Vargas. She explained in her book that the dog was badly behaved.
“If you read this book, you’ll realize that this happened 20 years ago. This book is full of vulnerable stories and tough decisions that I went through,” she said.
“And I want people who read this story to understand that this is a story that my political opponents have been trying to use against me for years. “I wanted them to know the truth,” she continued. “I wanted them to hear in my words that most politicians will run away from the truth. And they will run away from making difficult decisions. I won’t do either of those things. ”
She defended the move, saying it was “not a fun job” but also said it “had to be done.” She called the dog “very dangerous.”
Nomu, who is considered one of the finalists to be former President Trump’s running mate, has been embroiled in controversy since a copy of her book “No Going Back” was made public.
The governor is also responsible for including a story about meeting Kim while traveling overseas. Kim had never met a US leader before Trump in 2018, and there is no evidence the two ever met. Noem said the story was not fabricated and was simply published in error.
“I’ve been traveling for years. I’ve worked in policy for almost 30 years. So I’ve traveled all over the world and met world leaders,” she said. “When this was brought to my attention, I asked the publisher if they could remove the name, and they did.”
“I took responsibility. I am not responsible,” she continued. “This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book. So I asked to get it out, and it was.”
Her publisher, Center Street, announced Sunday that it would remove the anecdote from the book before the full version is released.
When asked if the article was removed because it was false, she told Vargas: “That’s not the answer.”
Associated Press Noem noted that in 2014, while a member of the House of Representatives, she traveled to China, Japan and South Korea as part of a congressional delegation.
The book reportedly includes instances where she met with Mr. Kim during her travels.
“I remember meeting Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator. He must have underestimated me, my experience of looking down on petty tyrants (after all, I was a child pastor “I didn’t know anything about it,” she wrote in the book, which was available in many media outlets.
A second anecdote about the timing of Noem’s conversation with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley also came under scrutiny.
Noem’s publicist Ian Furey told The Hill on Friday that the mistake had been “communicated to the ghostwriter and editor,” adding, “The book has not yet been released and all future editions will be corrected.” ” he said.
“Of course the media will try to make a big deal out of these small issues,” he added.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
