(The Center Square) – The chair and co-chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party say Gov. Kristi Noem’s communications chief should be ousted from his job amid a book tour by the governor that has raised eyebrows.
Noem admitted to removing a passage of our book, “No Going Back,” that discussed a meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The governor has not said the meeting did not happen, giving the same answer in multiple interviews. Despite reading the audio version of the book, Noem said she had the passage removed “as soon as I became aware of it.” When pressed further, she has told interviewers she doesn’t discuss her conversations with world leaders.
The governor has also faced outrage over admitting she shot a 14-month-old dog named Cricket in a gravel pit 20 years ago before also shooting a goat. Noem said in the book she “hated” the dog. She has more recently claimed the dog killed chickens and was a threat to her children.
The stories shed a negative light on South Dakota, according to Democratic Party Chair Shane Merrill and Vice-chair Jessica Meyers.
“Public service is an honor and a privilege. South Dakota taxpayers should not be on the hook paying Ian Fury more than $144,000 a year salary to destroy the reputation of our state and negate the millions of dollars spent to advertise South Dakota across the country,” they said in a statement issued Wednesday. “At a time when Gov. Noem once again lacks a chief of staff, action must be made to hold individuals accountable for what can only be described as an utter failure in doing the basics of a public relations job. Fury should not have allowed the publication of the Governor’s recent book without proper fact-checking and review.”
Fury did not immediately return a message from The Center Square seeking comment.
Noem, once considered a possible running mate for Donald Trump, is also receiving criticism fellow Republicans.
“Killing the dog and then writing about it ended any possibility of her being picked as VP,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in Politico.
