Noem Falsely Claims To Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Playbook reports:

This promises to be an interesting book tour. Just as the dog-killing news cycle was cresting, a South Dakota publication, The Dakota Scout, reported on an anecdote in “No Going Back” that on its face is highly improbable: Noem’s claim that she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un when she served in Congress.

“I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).” In fact, the only part of this that checks out is Kim “having no clue about” Noem — because they never met.

Last night, Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, seemed to concede that the Kim story was false, telling Playbook, somewhat cryptically, “We’ve been made aware that the publisher will be addressing conflated world leaders’ names in the book before it is released.”

Read the full article.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s new book releases next week and is already proving to be an interesting rollout, with swirling stories about North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Nikki Haley.

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— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookdc) May 3, 2024