'Answer this question!' Newsmax host unleashes on Kristi Noem after saying she won't be VP
A conservative media host held South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's feet to the fire for claiming she had faced down North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Republican governor falsely claimed in her memoir to have met the reclusive Kim during her time in Congress, and she told reporters over the weekend the passage should have been removed from the book.
But she said Tuesday morning that she would not discuss her private meetings during a testy exchange on Newsmax TV, where host Rob Finnerty cast doubt on her political future.
"I agree with you there," Finnery said, "but going back to what you said a moment ago, maybe not lying to the American people, and I think this is important to talk about because the book is called 'No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics,' and I think part of the problem with politics today is that politicians aren't honest with the American people.
"So if, governor, if you asked me a month ago who's at the top of the list to run with Donald Trump, I would have said your name. If you asked me that same question this morning, I don't even think you're on the list."
"Really?" Noem interjected. "Why is that?"
"So my question for you — yes, really — and it's because of things that have come out in this book, like your claims that you met Kim Jong Un," Finnery replied.
"I've been to the [demilitarlized zone,]" Noem said. "I've been to the DMZ, I've been to the area. What I've said is Kim Jong Un ..."
"Did you stare down Kim Jong Un?" Finnerty interjected. "Governor, one second, I'll give you the opportunity to respond, I just want to get this out there. So here's the quote from the book. You say that, 'I remember when I met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I'm sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants.' Governor, that never happened, did it?"
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Noem agreed the anecdote should not have been included in the book, and her publisher said it would be removed, but she refused to say whether she actually met with the North Korean dictator.
"What I have said in the book is that when I became aware of the content that we had it changed," Noem said, "and that's the way that it is, so I should not have put that anecdote in the book. I'm not going to talk about my meetings."
"But an anecdote indicates that it happened, right?" Finnerty interjected.
"I'm not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders," Noem continued. "I've been involved in policy for 30 years, for 30 years I've been traveling the world talking to world leaders, and that's a conversation that I'm not going to have in this book. I've answered that in other interviews already. I've been very forthright, and I think that a typical politician wouldn't be that honest."
Finnerty pressed on, asking whether she could confirm the meeting took place as claimed in her book.
"I'm asking if the meeting actually happened," he said. "I don't think it did, and I think if it did, you'd be able to confirm for me that yes, it did, and here's when it happened, it happened, say at such-and-such a date or a month, or you don't have to be specific."
"I'm not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders," Noem insisted.
"You have to answer this question, then," Finnerty said.
"I don't think so," Noem replied, and began citing a litany of attacks on President Joe Biden.
Finnerty steered the interview back to his questions about meeting Kim, and said those doubts could pose a problem for Trump if he chose her as running mate, but Noem didn't think that would matter.
"The thing that's very interesting to me is the only person who will decide is Donald Trump," Noem said. "He will decide and he knows that I think he should pick the person that will help him win that. That is my one parameter.
"When he was in the White House, I was on offense every day. I got to solve problems for the people of South Dakota. I got to, you know, think out of the box and be innovative. Now, with Joe Biden in the White House, all I am is on defense.
"So I will tell you that the one thing that President Trump knows for a fact is that I want him to win and that I want him to pick the person that will help him win because America needs him back in the White House."
Watch the exchange below or at this link.
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