South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said former President Donald Trump’s campaign had not formally vetted her as a running mate, but did not say whether the accusations over the shooting of her own dog were the reason.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Noem told guest host Peter Alexander that she has not received any paperwork from the Trump campaign as the former president considers potential running mates for vice president in 2024. The Trump campaign has requested detailed information from at least four potential candidates: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
“I’ve spoken with the president, and we know that only the president can decide who the vice president is,” Noem said Sunday.
Noem and Trump both spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington on Saturday, with some in the audience chanting “VP” as Noem took the stage.
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But Noem drew widespread criticism earlier this year after detailing how she euthanized an “untrainable” dog in her book, “No Turning Back: The Truth About What’s Wrong with Politics and How to Move America Forward,” due to be published in 2024. After the news broke, Trump said Noem had “had a terrible week.”
Noem defended his decision to include the anecdote in the book but did not answer Alexander’s question about whether it affected Trump’s chances of being elected.
“I would encourage people to read this book and really understand the truth of why that story is there and read the other parts of the story that we’re not going to go back to the politics we had before,” Noem said. “Donald Trump changed politics in that we’re having more honest and sincere conversations about the challenges that people face.”
Noem also did not directly answer a question from Alexander asking whether Trump would be making a mistake if he did not choose a woman as his Republican running mate, even though Trump said last year that he liked the “idea” of choosing a woman as his running mate.
“He needs to pick the best guy for the job. He needs to pick the guy that’s going to help him win,” Noem said.
Alexander also asked Noem if she was considering running for president in 2028, to which she replied, “I’m not thinking about that right now.”
Rachel Barber is a USA TODAY 2024 Election Fellow focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) as @rachelbarber_.
