South Dakota Gov. Noem erroneously describes meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in new book
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem claimed in a new book to have met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described in a new book having met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. But her office said Friday that the story of the meeting was an error as further scrutiny was put on the Republican governor's life story.
Noem was already facing backlash for a description of how she shot a hunting dog. The book was part of an overt pitch to be chosen as a running mate for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But her political prospects have fallen amid bipartisan disgust for how she recounted killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket after it had shown aggressive behavior and killed her neighbor's chickens.
In her soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward," Noem describes instances where she has stood up to international leaders — anecdotes that would have bolstered her foreign policy experience — but those were called into question. She writes about meeting Kim Jong Un while she worked in Congress, and more recently, canceling a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron
After The Dakota Scout first reported Noem's descriptions of the meetings, her spokesman Ian Fury said in a statement, “It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book ‘No Going Back’ has two small errors. This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor."