Inaccuracies found in Noem’s new memoir ahead of release
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) memoir has not been released, but inaccuracies in the text are already emerging.
Noem’s spokesperson said “two small errors” have been brought to the Republican governor’s attention. The book is titled “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.”
The Dakota Scout reported Thursday that Noem’s book said she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while she was serving in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee.
“Though my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders,” she reportedly wrote in the forthcoming book. “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).”
The Dakota Scout spoke with congressional staffers and North Korea analysts who explained why such a meeting was all but impossible. Although Noem visited China in 2014 as part of the committee, there is no record of Kim leaving North Korea until 2018, when Noem was campaigning for governor.
An analyst noted to the outlet that not even former President Obama had met Kim, and former President Trump met Kim in summer 2018.
In an emailed statement to The Hill, Noem’s spokesperson Ian Fury said Kim “was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn’t have been.”
On Sunday evening, Noem’s publisher, Center Street, posted on X that “at the request of Governor Noem, we are removing a passage regarding Kim Jung Un from her book No Going Back, upon reprint of the print edition and as soon as technically possible on the audio and ebook editions. Further questions about the passage should be referred to the author.”
Noem also wrote about a “weird” conversation she had with former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who Noem said called her and offered to be a mentor in summer 2021.
According to an excerpt of the book obtained by Politico, Noem writes that Haley said she had “heard quite a bit” about her, but Noem said she felt threatened by the call.
Noem said Haley made it clear that there was only room for one Republican woman to be in the spotlight. The South Dakota governor has been rumored to be on Trump’s vice-presidential short-list, though another story in her book — about killing her dog — has not helped her prospects.
Politico reported that a Haley spokesperson said the two women spoke, but in 2020, not 2021. Fury confirmed the 2020 timing of the conversation in his statement.
Fury said the errors have “been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor” and “the book has not been released yet, and all future editions will be corrected.”
“The media will, of course, try and make these tiny issues huge,” Fury said in a statement, going on to list dubious claims made by President Biden about his own life.
Last week, Noem made national headlines after excerpts of the book were reported where she detailed shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, after he misbehaved during a hunting trip.
Noem doubled down on her actions, despite receiving sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.
Updated at 10:20 pm.
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