South Dakota governor and probable Trump vice presidential candidate Kristi Noem’s new memoir No Going Back wants to develop a no-nonsense reputation and call out “fake” politicians, but the book is causing controversy due to a series of overstated statements Ms. Noem makes to establish her own bona fides.
That trend continued in an appearance with CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, when the Republican leader refused to say whether she lied about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, despite the fact that a version of No Going Back made the same assertion.
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“I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders,” she informed host Margaret Brennan. “I just won’t do that. As soon as I became aware of this incident, I made the necessary changes to the book.
According to North Korea analysts, Ms. Noem is unlikely to have ever met the North Korean leader.
Mr. Kim did not leave North Korea between 2011 and 2018, according to George Lopez, a University of Notre Dame professor and North Korea expert.
Benjamin Young, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor and North Korea expert, told The Dakota Scout that Ms. Noem’s report of meeting Kim was “dubious.”
“I cover North Korea very closely, and I have never heard of Kim Jong Un meeting congressmen or congresswomen,” he said.
In a statement to The Independent, Ian Fury, chief of communications for Ms. Noem’s office, said: “It has come to our attention that the upcoming book No Going Back has two minor mistakes. We have informed both the ghostwriter and the editor about this. A list of world leaders mistakenly included Kim Jong Un.
No Going Back also included reports that Ms. Noem declined an offer to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, which his office refuted.
Aside from the accusations concerning world leaders, Governor Noem’s memoir has gained attention for her description of murdering a small dog on her farm after it misbehaved and ate a neighbor’s hens.
In response to the story, Stephen Colbert mocked the South Dakota leader.
Governor Noem asserted that state law justified her and that the “fake news” was exaggerating the story.
She wrote on X in April, stating that South Dakota law mandates the euthanasia of dogs that attack and kill livestock. “Given that Cricket had demonstrated aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.”
