Kristi Noem Tells Stuart Varney 'You Need To Stop' In Testy Exchange About Dog
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) got into a testy exchange with Fox Business host Stuart Varney on Tuesday as he doggedly asked questions about her dog-shooting scandal.
“Do you think it was good politics to include that story?” Varney asked the governor, referring to an anecdote she put in her book, “No Going Back,” about killing her dog, Cricket, for being “less than worthless” as a hunting dog.
In response, Noem claimed that her “political opponents have used it for years,” so she thought people should “know the truth on it.”
But it was when Varney started asking Noem questions about whether she had spoken to former President Donald Trump since the story broke that she had a cow.
Initially, she seemed OK with the line of questioning, telling Varney that she regularly talks to Trump and they “absolutely” spoke after the dog-killing story broke.
But she snapped after Varney asked her what Trump thought about her current situation.
“Enough, Stuart. This interview is ridiculous, what you are doing right now,” Noem griped. “You need to stop.”
She then asked Varney to “talk about some real topics that Americans care about,” but, sadly for her, he broke the news that they were out of time.
Wow! Noem loses it at Varney: "Enough, Stuart. This interview is ridiculous what you are doing right now. You need to stop." pic.twitter.com/SAweDXFJfs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 7, 2024
Noem has faced hard questions about her new book, but she may not have expected a Fox-employed host to ask non-softball questions.
It must have been a double shock for the governor in a separate interview on Tuesday, when Newsmax host Rob Finnerty pressed Noem on a dubious claim in “No Going Back” that she previously met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Although the anecdote is being removed from the book, Noem has refused to explain how it got in there or if the encounter really happened.
“Governor, that never happened, did it?” Finnerty asked about the alleged meeting.
“What I have said in the book is that when I became aware of the content that we had it changed,” Noem said. “And that’s the way that it is, so I should not have put that anecdote in the book. I’m not going to talk about my meetings.”
Finnerty pointed out that “an anecdote indicates that it happened, right?” But Noem wasn’t taking the bait.
“I’m not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders,” she said. “I’ve been involved in policy for 30 years. For 30 years, I’ve been traveling the world talking to world leaders, and that is a conversation that I’m not going to have in this book.”
Finnerty continued the inquiry.
“I’m asking if the meeting actually happened,” he said. “I don’t think it did, and I think if it did, you’d be able to confirm for me that yes, it did, and here’s when it happened. It happened, say, at such-and-such a date or a month, or you don’t have to be specific.”
“I’m not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders,” Noem replied.
“Then you’re going to continue to have to answer this question then,” Finnerty said.
“I don’t think so,” Noem said before changing the subject to attacking President Joe Biden.
Kristi Noem crashes and burns this morning on Newsmax 👇
NEWSMAX HOST ROB FINNERTY: If you asked me a month ago who's at the top of the list to run with Donald Trump, I would've said your name. If you asked me that same question this morning, I don't even think you're on the… pic.twitter.com/3sKHpo3pFY— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 7, 2024
