The State of Our Governor

What an unfortunate week this has been for South Dakota and South Dakotans.

It began with our governor promoting her new book “No Going Back” almost nonstop on social media. The promotion included a video of her, presumably at home, recording the audio version of the same book.

Advanced copies of the book were given to media outlets as part of the promotion- and that’s when the controversy started.

In her book, the governor apparently told the story of shooting a goat and an “untrainable dog” named Cricket several years ago. She wrote the dog was aggressive, killed chickens, and that she “hated” that dog.

Farm and ranch life is different than most city dwellers might think, and putting down animals is part of an unfortunate reality. I have the sense that she could’ve told the story 20 years ago, and people would’ve understood, or at least held her to a different standard rather than the current one.

To boast of Cricket’s demise during a time when society is at the most sensitive (if not unstable) phase in our memory, first appeared to be risky. It was only risky until she began to defend it publicly- then it became ugly. At some point, the dialogue with the media brought out the worst in her. Her response raised doubts and eyebrows and undoubtedly drew more negative attention to her book.

Noem’s book documents stories of her scheduling, then canceling a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron because of a comment he made about Hamas. This one may not have been harmful by itself, but it was accompanied by a similar story that she had met North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un. Her story in the book included her interpretation that the dictator probably underestimated her, then it made light of the meeting, claiming she had been a children’s pastor and was used to staring down little dictators. Well, this was much too much for the media to accept.

Several organizations went on fact-finding missions and ultimately confirmed that the stories of the French president and the North Korean dictator were false. This is where things went from sad to tragic.

South Dakota’s Governor, the highest elected official in our state, was caught telling bald-faced lies. Rather than be held accountable, she took us through an ugly cycle which included bloviating, exaggerating, blaming others, denial, and ultimately embracing victimhood. Governor Noem refuses to be held accountable for her lies and is willing to tell more lies in an attempt to dig her way out of this mess.  Meanwhile, South Dakotans need leadership.

I believe the straw that broke South Dakota’s back occurred on the May 5th edition of Face the Nation. Governor Noem was asked directly if she met with Kim Jong-Un in North Korea. She repeatedly refused to directly answer, instead deflecting to her world travels and opportunities to meet other world leaders. Most disturbingly, she stated, “As soon as this was brought to my attention, I certainly made some changes and looked at this passage… We went forward and have made some edits, so I’m glad this book is being released in a couple of days and that those edits will be in place and the people will have the updated version.” When asked again directly about meeting Kim Jong-Un, she again evaded the question and eventually said she would not talk about her meetings with world leaders.  This charade was repeated the next day on CBS Morning News.

There’s been mention of a “ghostwriter” and blame was even cast on the editor at one point.  But remember – she read her own book aloud for the recording of the audio version.

Anyone who’s been a parent has seen this type of behavior: storytelling; lying; bragging. Governor Noem‘s response to this entire debacle is childish, if not pathological. She can’t seem to help herself.

This past week, I personally have gone from being shocked, to annoyed, to angry, and now to sad and worried for the state of our State. The brazen and public lies of our governor now cast doubt on other claims made by her. I’m not sure it’s possible for South Dakotans to truly know who she is, or to trust her.

What’s more worrisome is that one would think those closest to the governor would have proofread the book and offered feedback. If this happened, those same proofreaders knew she had not met with the North Korean dictator, but either failed to say something about it, or she failed to listen to them. Either way, our lying governor has now exposed herself and her network of close followers as being untrustworthy.

It’s one thing to tell stories. It’s another thing to assume everyone listening is too dumb to tell the difference between an error and a lie and also between humility and hubris.