'So much weird': Morning Joe panel flummoxed by Kristi Noem's informercial for dentist
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem shot and shared a five-minute informercial for an out-of-state dentist who repaired her teeth, and panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" had a lot of questions.
The Republican governor promoted the Houston-based cosmetic dental practice Smile Texas, where she got veneers to repair her teeth damaged in a bicycle wreck, and the advertisement raised questions about the propriety of an elected official appearing in an advertisement without disclosing details involving payment.
"I'm completely confused," said co-host Mika Brzezinski. "It's totally unclear why she created this infomercial video. Former president [Donald] Trump said earlier in the year that Noem is on the short list to be his vice president in the upcoming election."
"I got nothing for you on this one, I don't know," added co-host Willie Geist. "It's a good-looking smile, I guess that's good. They did some nice work there. I just don't understand why now sitting governor –"
"Is that allowed?" Brzezinski interrupted. "Can governors do commercials for products that give businesses money?"
"Typically not," Geist replied.
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Jonathan Lemire, the White House bureau chief for Politico, said he'd done a little reporting on the dental practice, which he shared with the panel.
"This apparently is a celeb-friendly dentist in Texas," Lemire said. "Not clear the connection, but the same dentist, per his Instagram account, did Bristol Palin's teeth, as well as several members of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey.' With a pedigree like that, you can understand why one of the 50 governors in this great country of ours would travel thousands of miles away to get her smile fixed."
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) wondered whether Noem had violated any ethical standards for elected officials and asked why she didn't choose a dentist in her own state.
"First of all, there's so much weird here," McCaskill said. "Why, if you're a governor of a state, would you not go to a dentist in your own state? That first makes her look like she's an elite and somehow the dentists in her state aren't good enough. Secondly, did she get paid? Has anybody asked if she was paid for this? Obviously, I don't think she did this out of the goodness of her heart, and if so is she up for sale? Can anybody buy her for their products?"
"Finally, this probably makes her a contender, in and of itself, Trump cares more about the looks than he does the substance, and now she has prettier teeth," McCaskill added. "So I am kind of thinking -- by the way, nobody has shilled more for, what is it, vodka and steaks and water, fake universities, you know, he's the shill master, so maybe they're a couple made in heaven."
Watch the video below or at this link.
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