South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem made for some awkward television viewing Sunday morning as she was repeatedly challenged over a claim that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Speaking on CBS Face The Nation, journalist Margaret Brennan asked Noem about the anecdote, said to be printed in her forthcoming book.
In one section discussing meetings with international leaders, Noem writes: ‘Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders – some who wanted our help, and some who didn’t
‘I remember when I met with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor after all).’
But Noem appeared to be in no mood to offer any corrections despite others pointing out there was no meeting. ‘I’m so proud of this book and what it will bring to people,’ she said defiantly. ‘I’m not retracting anything.’
The Republican also defended her decision to put down her 14-month-old dog, a move that some have said has cost her a chance to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem faced scrutiny on CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday over her claim of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
Noem wrote that she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, above, while serving in the House of Representatives, which appears to be false.
The description of a supposed meeting between Un and herself was quickly challenged and described as implausible by experts on U.S.-North Korea relations – a fact not lost on Brennan as she asked Noem directly, ‘Did you meet Kim Jong Un?’
‘You know, as soon as this was brought to my attention, I certainly made some changes and looked at this passage and I’ve met with many, many world leaders. I’ve traveled around the world,’ Noem responded, avoiding answering the question.
‘As soon as it was brought to my attention we went forward and have made some edits, so I’m glad this book is being released in a couple of days and that those edits will be in place and people will have the updated version.’
But Brennan wasn’t finished. ‘You did not meet with Kim Jong-un, that’s what you’re saying?’, she queried.
Noem was no clearer in her answer the second time around.
‘I’ve met with many, many world leaders and traveled around the world. I think I’ve talked extensively in this book about my time serving in congress, my time as governor, before governor, some of the travels that I’ve had.’
Noem’s continues to be in the doghouse over anecdotes shared in her forthcoming book. She is pictured at a Trump rally in March
A Facebook picture shows Noem with a gun. In her forthcoming book she writes about Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehair pointer, that Noem shot dead in the gravel pit on her family property, moments before her children came home from school
Noem then attempted to give her comments an air of plausibility: ‘I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders. I’m just not going to do that.
‘This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book and as soon as it was brought to my attention I made sure that was adjusted,’ Noem added.
Brennan then asked who she might have confused Un for before stating that she had never been to North Korea.
Noem said she had visited the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea but that there were ‘some specifics’ she was ‘not willing to share.’
While former President Donald Trump met with Kim on three occasions during his presidency, Noem served in Congress from 2007 to 2011, when relations were frostier.
Noem detailed in her upcoming book a story about shooting and killing her ‘dangerous’ 14-month-old farm puppy Cricket. Another dog, Hazel, a Vizsla, is pictured
Noem has written a new book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward , which will be released on May 7
In a statement to DailyMail.com Noem’s spokesperson Ian Fury placed the blame on Noem’s ghostwriter.
‘It was brought to our attention 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 shouldn’t have been. The Governor spoke with Nikki Haley in 2020 and met with her in 2021,’ he added.
Fury cast scrutiny of the errors in Noem’s book as biased, saying, ‘The media will, of course, try and make these tiny issues huge.’
Noem was then asked about the shooting dead of her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket.
Noem said that she took care of her ‘untrainable’ dog the correct way by taking Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting her after aggressive behaviors like killing neighbor’s chickens and trying to bite her.
She acknowledge on X she understands why ‘some people are upset’ but reiterated it was legal in South Dakota to ‘put down’ a dog that attacks and kills livestock
Critics claim that Noem, who shot her dog while her kids were at school, could have rehomed the dog or surrendered to a shelter that may have been better equipped to train the animal.
‘The reason that this story is in the book — because people need to understand who I am and some of those difficult decisions,’ Noem said. ‘This book is filled with vulnerable painful moments in my life, filled with times where I’ve made very difficult decisions.
‘This was a dangerous animal killing livestock and attacking people. We had many kids running around and I made a difficult choice. I would ask everybody in the country to put themselves in that situation because that’s what I faced. I talk about it because what I’m tired of in this country is politicians who pretend to be something they’re not.’
The revelation has apparently hurt Noem’s chances at being on the Trump ticket. One anonymous senator recently told The Hill that she is out of the running after defending the decision.
‘She’s just done, too much drama,’ said one Republican senator who knows Trump’s thinking on the matter.
