After much anticipation, former President Donald Trump claims he has finally chosen his running mate for the 2024 presidential elections and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is putting on a brave face about it, because it ain't her.
The preemptive GOP nominee told reporters in Philadelphia on Saturday that no one knows his choice for running mate and that, for now, his secret is safely vaulted “inside his own mind,” according to Newsmax.
However, three finalists have risen to the top of his list in recent days: Ohio Senator J.D Vance, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
After months of legal headaches, choosing the right person to be by his side has become of utmost importance and could potentially sway the presidential race either way. Each option has its notable claims to fame. Vance for example, gained national attention with his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” Burgum, a fellow businessman like Trump, has been a vocal supporter of the former president’s policies and remarks.
Rubio, on the other hand, actually ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries — making him the candidate with considerable political experience.
Understandably, given the competition, it is difficult to land on the shortlist. South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem is one such GOP member who didn’t make the cut.
Noem appeared on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday morning, to discuss what she thinks hindered her chances. She certainly doesn’t seem to think the national attention the story of her killing her dog garnered had anything to do with it.
She claimed that that was simply a story from 20 years ago about protecting her children from “vicious animals,” maintaining that the book is full of “challenging times and hard decisions.”
This is not the only question Noem tried to skillfully avoid. Bringing up a line from her book that was later redacted, guest host Peter Alexander asked, “You wrote about meeting with Kim Jong Un. There's no evidence that meeting happened, so how did it make it into your book?"
Noem said, "I'm not gonna talk about that. I took that line out of my book."
Alexander persisted, "Why was that line ever in your book?"
In her roundabout way, Noem avoided the question and then finally, when asked one last time, the Republican leader said: “I am not going to talk about this.”
What the South Dakota governor was willing to confirm is that she didn’t receive any paperwork to vet her for the VP role.
“You said that having a woman on the ticket would help Donald Trump win, and he said on this program last year that he liked the concept of running with a woman,” said Alexander, pointing out that three men are currently on the shortlist. “Would Donald Trump be making a mistake if he doesn’t pick a woman as his running mate?”
Noem pivoted the question to compliment Trump, saying that the convicted felon is in a “fantastic position” to win the election no matter who he picks, as long as that person helps him win.
