Not to beat a dead horse, ah, but how can we ignore the spectacle South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has put on for herself during her publicity tour for her just-released memoir, “No Going Back”?
Over the weekend, he sparred with Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” when Brennan asked him to reflect on the wisdom of including anecdotes about killing his dog and goat, and some other gruesome stories in the book.
opinion columnist
Robin Abcarian
Instead of answering simple questions about her judgment and memory, Noem proved to be a master at the kind of nonsensical transition that plagues interviews with politicians, especially Republicans, these days. Let me paraphrase, but just:
Q: Do you regret writing about killing your dog Cricket?
A: Why is Commander, Joe Biden's Secret Service agent-eating dog, still alive?
Q: Why did you lie about meeting Kim Jong Un?
A: None of your beeswax!
But the receipts, as they say, are there.
Or at least they were. In the embargoed copy of his memoir obtained by The Guardian, Noem is quoted writing: “I remember meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I am sure that he underestimated me, having no idea of my experience looking at little tyrants (after all, he had been a children's shepherd).”
There is a lot wrong with that passage, and not even because it never happened.
Pretending that a global villain like Kim would think twice about an obscure American congresswoman is narcissism at its most delusional. But throwing away your own pastoral ducklings by comparing them to a murderous dictator? That's hard. (It's not hard to kill puppies, but still.)
Noem was in Congress from 2011 to 2019. As South Dakota's only representative in the House and a member of the Armed Services Committee, Noem, of course, traveled widely and came into contact with many world leaders. He writes about meeting or being present at events with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, England's Boris Johnson, and Italy's Giorgia Meloni. She cites with approval the re-election of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban.
On Tuesday, when “No Going Back” was officially available, I downloaded it to my Kindle. Noem's Kim Jong Un face-to-face fantasy was nowhere to be found.
That Kim anecdote, however, is not the only one Noem has been accused of making up.
Other disputed accounts include her claim that she canceled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2023 after he said something she considered anti-Israel and pro-Hamas, and her reporting of what she called a “threatening” phone call during the pandemic. . of former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who was then contemplating a run for president.
Macron's office told the Associated Press that Noem had never been invited to meet him, although he admitted it was possible they had been scheduled to attend the same event in Paris.
Regarding the call with Haley, Noem writes: “It was clear that she wanted me to know that there was only room for one Republican woman in the spotlight. “It was strange.”
Haley's representative disputed Noem's account, telling Politico that Haley, the former governor, had called Noem to offer support during the pandemic. “How she would turn that into a threat,” said Haley spokesman Chaney Denton, “is just bizarre.”
On Sunday, Noem doubled down. “That story is absolutely true,” he told the “CBS Mornings” hosts. “It's the typical politician who says what she needs on any given day for her own benefit.”
In a book full of cocky stories about his immense but imaginary courage, think of the real It would have taken the courage to hold on and say, “I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away.”
Instead, her spokesman, Ian Fury, essentially blamed Noem's ghostwriter for the fabricated incident with North Korea's supreme leader. “Kim Jong Un was put on a list of world leaders and he shouldn't have been,” Fury told the Dakota Scout. “This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor.”
That non-answerable excuse is right up there with the classic “mistakes were made” obfuscation. Ironically, in the acknowledgments of her memoir, Noem writes, “Shout out to Ian for keeping me honest.” Great job, Ian!
Instead of admitting she made a mistake, as one joker on social media put it, Noem escapist
So who is the ghostwriter?
From the memoir's acknowledgments, it appears that he is Mike Loomis, whom Noem describes as “a crazy guy” who “even scolded me once for not being prepared to write material!” (Sarcastic alert: you can see why he needed help writing in that sentence.)
Loomis is a seasoned hand who has ghostwritten at least a dozen memoirs, including one by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. I contacted him through his website but received no response. The poor thing is probably being inundated with requests for comments.
On Monday, the day after her disastrous appearance on “Face the Nation,” Elizabeth Vargas grilled Noem on NewsNation. Fortunately for Noem, his Cricket story is no longer the big news. Unfortunately for Noem, interest now turns to whether he lied about staring at Kim Jong Un.
“When this was pointed out we made an adjustment,” he told Vargas. “That name shouldn't be in the book and I'm not going to talk about those personal meetings.”
“But clearly if you have taken it from the book it is because it is not true,” Vargas said.
“I have given you my answer,” Noem said, “and no, that is not the answer.”
“You recorded the audiobook, you read the whole book out loud, why didn't you put it out then?” Vargas pressed.
“Did you want to talk about something else today?” -Noem asked.
“We're just trying to get a straight answer,” Vargas responded.
“You did it,” Noem said, “and I mean, I took responsibility for it. The responsibility is mine.”
President Truman would be turning in his grave.
