by Sharon Rondeau
(Feb. 5, 2024) — On Monday night’s “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity asked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem about 45th President Donald J. Trump’s mention of her as a strong supporter in a recent interview with “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo and whether it signaled she is on Trump’s “short list” for vice president should he receive the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
In her second term as South Dakota governor after serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as the state’s sole House member and two terms in the state House of Representatives, Noem has been floated as a vice-presidential candidate in many circles along with South Carolina Senator and former 2024 presidential candidate Tim Scott, who Trump complimented in the same conversation with Bartimoro. Also frequently floated are House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik; first-term U.S. Senator from Ohio J.D. Vance; former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake; former 2024 Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; and Trump HUD Secretary and world-renowned retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, among others.
While some in the media took Trump’s praise of Noem and Scott to confirm their place on the “list,” Trump emphasized to Bartiromo there are numerous people he would consider and with whom he is having conversations.
In response to Hannity, Noem was non-committal, saying only that Trump’s invoking of her alignment with him on policies such as immigration was “very kind of him.”
In addition to the Trump interview broadcast Sunday, Noem was a guest of Bartiromo’s during which Noem accused Joe Biden of “destabilizing our country” by allowing vast numbers of illegal aliens to enter over the last three years, particularly “military-aged men.”
Last week Noem visited the U.S.-Mexico border in support of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his conflict with the federal government over border security and ordered her state National Guard to assist in Texas’s efforts to defend itself from the “invasion” caused by thousands of illegal crossers each day.
In her interviews with Hannity and Bartiromo, Noem stressed the importance of “states’ rights” and her view that the Biden regime is attempting to eviscerate them by suggesting it could “federalize” state National Guard troops.
Noem is author of a new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” which will be released in May.
She just doesn’t strike me as having the guts needed to handle tough situations. She caved on Title IX a while back. Yes, she is stepping up to the plate on border issues. But she is not paying attention to a crazy Republican bill that makes a mess of voting. The nicest thing I can say is that she is not ready.