Mother Jones; John Raoux/AP
After it emerged recently that Gov. Kristi Noem recounts a graphic, disturbing story in her forthcoming book about killing her puppy with a gun, the Republican from South Dakota defended the violence as a “tough decision” she had to make. The dog, she wrote, had attacked some chickens.
“I talk about it because what I’m tired of in this country is politicians who pretend to be something that they’re not,” Noem said on CBS’s Face the Nation today.
That tough talk aside, Noem apparently is not immune to such posing: It has now also emerged that she falsely claimed in her book to have met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. And she refused to cop to the embarasssing mistake directly when CBS host Margaret Brennan questioned her about it on Sunday. The passage in question, which appears to have first been reported by independent South Dakota news site The Dakota Scout, says Noem met the dictator while serving in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee. According to the New York Times, which obtained an advanced copy of Noem’s book, the governor wrote:
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 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). Dealing with foreign leaders takes resolve, preparation, and determination.
When questioned about the anecdote, Noem’s spokesperson admitted to The Dakota Scout that the publisher will be updating the book to address “conflated world leaders’ names” before its release—though the spokesperson does not appear to have clarified who Noem could have been referring to. (The spokesperson did not respond to questions from Mother Jones on Sunday afternoon.) Noem, too, refused to clear things up when Brennan confronted her on air.
“Did you meet Kim Jong Un?” Brennan asked.
“Well, you know, as soon as this was brought to my attention, I certainly made some changes and looked at this passage. And I have met with many, many world leaders. I have traveled around the world. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we went forward and have made some edits,” Noem replied, adding that “people will have the updated version” when the book is released Tuesday.
“So you did not meet with Kim Jong Un? That’s what you’re saying,” Brennan pressed.
Noem went on to repeat the claim that she has met with “many, many world leaders” before insisting she was “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,” Noem continued. “And as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.”
Later, Brennan tried to clarify how Noem could have possibly made such an error, asking, “who is it that you confused Kim Jong-un with?”
Noem had no answer; later, she blasted Brennan as part of the “fake news media” and criticized her for interrupting her throughout the interview.
When it comes to owning up to her mistakes, it seems that Noem is taking a cue from the title of her book: No Going Back.
.@KristiNoem addresses the false claim in her new book that she met with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un: "This anecdote shouldn't have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention I made sure that that was adjusted." pic.twitter.com/mae7nxfnTg
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 5, 2024
