<p>Brennan told Noem, "You have the highest death rate in cumulative COVID deaths per million in the country. The CDC says you have the eighth highest death rate per capita now…. I know you're a conservative and you care about the sanctity of life. So, how can you justify making decisions that put the health of your constituents at risk?"</p><p>Noem gave an answer that was both defense and evasive, telling Brennan, "Those are questions that you should be asking every other governor in this country as well…. Regionally, we have seen the virus hit the country very differently, and it hit the Midwest earlier than it did the South — and now, the East Coast and the West Coast. So, we are still dealing with this virus in this country."</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8735914979766692e587948416938832" id="93b5e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366057111298408448"><div style="margin:1em 0">Pressed on Face the Nation about a Republican governor citing South Dakota as an example of how not to respond to C… https://t.co/GPPYbsrQ4S</div> — Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar)<a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/statuses/1366057111298408448">1614528370.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p>Brennan brought up the widely criticized Sturgis motorcycle rally, held in South Dakota in August 2020. Full of maskless bikers, the event ignored social distancing recommendations.<br/></p><p>"Listen, what we did was allow people to make decisions for themselves," Noem told Brennan. "We gave them all the information on this virus — how to protect their health — and then, we allowed them to make decisions on what they would do. My question is, if we had mandated that people had to stay home, if we had mandated that businesses had to be closed, would that have made a difference? I would argue that it wouldn't have."</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5174a49ec73e5fe3b3023592eb00d763" id="26832"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366058007562506248"><div style="margin:1em 0">Asked if she takes personal responsibility for the 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally being a superspreader event, Noem… https://t.co/VvkeJRQFQA</div> — Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar)<a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/statuses/1366058007562506248">1614528583.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p>Speaking at CPAC 2021, Noem claimed that South Dakota is a COVID-19 success story — even though it is the exact opposite — and pandered to the crowd by attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci. Noem drew applause from the Trumpistas in attendance when she said, "Dr. Fauci is wrong a lot."</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e13b8422426439246941dd11c37d6df" id="f05c5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1365767075512406019"><div style="margin:1em 0">Gov. Kristi Noem is speaking and pushing the idea that public health regulations in response to a pandemic that has… https://t.co/cphz4B6GEJ</div> — Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar)<a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/statuses/1365767075512406019">1614459220.0</a></blockquote></div>
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