Gov. Kristi Noem endorses Trump as he visits South Dakota

WASHINGTON — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem endorsed former President Donald Trump at a celebration fundraiser in South Dakota Friday evening that doubled as a chance for Noem to showcase herself as a possible vice presidential decide.

As his rivals held city halls and meet-and-greets in early voting states, Trump was headlining the South Dakota Republican Party‘s “Monumental Leaders Rally” in Rapid City. Noem appeared alongside the former president at the paid event, creating an image that Noem’s allies had hoped would seem like a presidential ticket, in line with two senior Republicans acquainted with her pondering who spoke on situation of anonymity forward of the announcement.

“I will do everything I can to help him win and save this country,” Noem stated as she previously provided her endorsement earlier than Trump took the stage. She stated that every one the Republican presidential candidates had been invited to the occasion. “All of them told us that they had better things to do. But when President Trump was invited to come be with you tonight, he said, ‘I will be there,’” she stated.

Trump’s resolution to headline the occasion underscores his dominance of the Republican race at the same time as he faces 4 separate indictments and 91 felony counts. South Dakota holds a late main and isn’t aggressive in a common election. But with an enormous lead, Trump is skipping a lot of the standard main marketing campaign. Instead of large-scale rallies, he’s counting on state social gathering occasions that supply giant, pleasant audiences for gratis to his marketing campaign as his political group faces hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in authorized bills.

The go to was one thing of an audition for Noem. She deliberate the occasion as a method to each supply her endorsement and maximize face time with Trump as he considers potential 2024 working mates and cupboard members, in line with one of many Republicans who spoke anonymously. A spokesman for the governor declined to remark.

Noem might be term-limited in 2026 and, after declining to run for president this yr, is eyeing her subsequent transfer to take care of prominence within the GOP.

Michael Card, a longtime observer of South Dakota politics, steered Noem may make a future National Rifle Association president or conservative commentator, however stated her greatest alternative could lie with Trump.

“I think Donald Trump has a 50-50 shot of getting elected at this point, so why not hitch your wagon to him if you can?” he stated.

Voting received’t start for a number of months and Trump’s indictments and upcoming felony trials create an unprecedented state of affairs that many strategists argue may affect the race in surprising methods. That hasn’t stopped those that are eager to be thought-about as Trump’s working mate from overtly jockeying for the place and making an attempt to curry favor with him and his aides.

Aides warning it’s far too early for critical discussions. But Trump has indicated in conversations that he’s inquisitive about choosing a lady this time round. Among the opposite names which were floated: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and two of Trump’s present rivals, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have additionally been talked about.

Trump might be in Iowa, the primary state on the GOP nomination calendar, on Saturday to attend the school soccer sport between Iowa and Iowa State.

“What we’re focused on is just locking up this primary and pivoting towards the general election,” stated marketing campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.

Noem was lengthy thought-about a possible White House contender in her personal proper and had instructed The New York Times in November that she didn’t imagine Trump provided “the best chance” for the social gathering in 2024. She has since stated she noticed no level in becoming a member of the crowded subject working for the nomination given Trump’s dominant place.

“I would in a heartbeat,” she instructed Newsmax when requested this week about whether or not she would think about becoming a member of a possible Trump ticket if requested. “President Trump needs a strong partner if he’s going to take back the White House, and he’s going to need somebody who knows what it’s like to run a business, to be an employee, earn a paycheck, but also having a wife, mom and a grandma isn’t bad either.”

It was Trump’s first go to to South Dakota because the summer time of 2020, when he headlined a Fourth of July fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day. The then-president had been searching for a venue to show the web page after a summer time of pandemic lockdowns and racial justice protests. Noem’s occasion at Mount Rushmore was notably devoid of pandemic restrictions.

She additionally gifted him a miniature duplicate of Mount Rushmore together with his likeness carved alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

“I don’t know exactly,” Trump stated Thursday when requested if Noem will endorse him. “But I am going. I like her a lot. I think she’s great. Kristi’s done a great job.” He has usually praised her dealing with of the pandemic, saying once more Thursday she had performed “a fantastic job.”

A former member of Congress, Noem in 2018 squeezed out a surprisingly shut win over a Democratic challenger to develop into South Dakota’s first feminine governor. She rose to nationwide prominence with a principally hands-off method to the pandemic and tacked intently to the urgings of Trump to return to life as regular.

She handily received reelection final yr, at the same time as she carried out worse than different Republicans on the poll.

Despite not working for president, Noem has continued to place herself nationally. She has been an outspoken champion for the National Rifle Association, even bragging at a spring conference for the gun-rights group that her 1-year-old granddaughter “already has” firearms. She has additionally defended South Dakota’s abortion ban and can seem at a Michigan fundraiser later this month to assist Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

During the primary GOP presidential debate, she appeared in an advert to encourage companies and households to maneuver to what she calls “the freest state in America.”

South Dakota GOP chair John Wiik stated he had anticipated about 7,000 individuals to attend the sold-out fundraiser. The occasion was first deliberate as a Lincoln Day-style fundraising dinner generally held by native Republican teams, Wiik stated, nevertheless it later ballooned right into a rally with proceeds going to the state social gathering.

“I did get a lot of questions at first,” Wiik stated about Trump’s resolution to journey to his state simply as the first season kicks into its conventional post-Labor Day overdrive.

“But the more you look at it, Trump is a media event wherever he lands,” Wiik stated. “He could do a rally on the moon and he’d spread his word and get just as many people, so I’m just glad he chose South Dakota.”