Megyn Kelly sharply criticized South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Wednesday for writing an inaccurate account of a supposed meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in her new book and for changing her story repeatedly amid the fallout from a separate passage that details Noem shooting and killing and her dog.
Noem has been repeatedly pressed about the book’s passage in which she describes meeting with the North Korean leader, but she has declined to say that the account is false —even though the passage has since been redacted.
She has instead insisted that “I don’t talk about personal meetings with world leaders,” and that, “When this was brought to my attention, I immediately took actions and asked to have his name removed.”
Noem repeated the same response when asked how she did not notice the error when recording the audiobook.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Kelly responded to Noem’s positioning on the issue, saying, “She wrote it, read it, endorsed it and tried to sell it.”
“She got caught because she didn’t think the rest of us were smart enough to figure out: It’s a big deal to meet with Kim Jong Un,” Kelly continued. “It’s a very small collection of Americans who have done it, and some no-name congresswoman from South Dakota — which is what she was at the time — would not be on the list.”
“So she did read it, and she did that because she wanted to mislead us, which is par for the course now for this woman. She’s been exposed,” Kelly added.
Kelly also criticized Noem for the way she has handled the backlash to a separate part of her back, in which she talks about shooting her dog. Kelly noted that Noem at first said the dog killed some chickens, but, over time, Noem increasingly began characterizing the dog as an immediate threat to the safety of her children.
“She bragged about it and then lied when she realized us normies weren’t too pro all the murders,” Kelly said.
Kelly said two months ago, she thought Noem was “this rising star within the Republican Party,” noting Noem has a compelling personal story — living on a ranch and losing her dad in a tragic accident.
Now, however, Kelly said she thinks Noem — once seen as a contender for former President Trump’s vice-presidential pick — is “so done. She’s done. She’s toast.”
“Trump, say what you will about him, is not dumb, and he knows she’s a loser, and she will hurt his ticket and violate the No. 1 rule — the only rule — in picking a vice president, which is do no harm. Where is Trump struggling the most? With suburban, married women. How are they going to react to this lying, dog-killing person?” Kelly said, before proceeding to criticize Noem’s appearance. “I do think these women are gonna revolt. They are not going to vote for her.”
The Hill has reached out to Noem’s office for a response.