A highly anticipated 2024 ticket, a controversial dog story, and a sense of being “threatened” by Nikki Haley – the latest book from Gov. Kristi Noem, R.S.D., details her role in leadership and behind-the-scenes experience of DC politics.
Noem's book, titled “No Going Back,” chronicles her life lessons through her family farm, service in Congress and current role as governor. And while the conservatives' book hasn't hit shelves yet, it has already roiled the news cycle.
The governor continued to maintain her support for former President Donald Trump, whom she described as a “bull in a china shop” in the book, which she shared with Fox News Digital ahead of its release Tuesday.
Trump recently confirmed that the Republican governor was on his short list for vice president, and when asked about the coveted position, Noem said she wants the former president to “pick who's going to help him win.”
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(L-R) Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens as North Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski)
“He knows I'll do everything I can to help him win. But every day it is clear to me that our way of life is under attack. And unless he gets into the White House, this country is going to have some very challenging times ahead,” Noem told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview ahead of the book launch.
Prior to the book launch, there was one specific released excerpt that caused serious controversy: a story in which Noem had her hunting dog slaughtered.
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The story went like this. Noem had a young dog, Cricket, who she described as “untrainable” and with an “aggressive personality.” One day the dog jumped out of her car, killed several of her neighbors' chickens and almost bit Noem as she tried to control him. So Noem decided to euthanize the dog along with a “demon goat” on her farm.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks before former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski)
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized the governor on social media for the story, with a bipartisan group even launching the Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus just days after the excerpt was released. The governor defended the story in her book, telling Fox “it was a difficult decision and a vulnerable story.”
“I am not surprised that those who have always attacked me are also attacking me. Republicans and Democrats who attacked me during Covid are the same ones who are attacking me now,” Noem said when asked about the backlash of the story. “But I think the average citizen, when he reads that story, will recognize that I place the safety of people in my hands above an animal that kills livestock and attacks people.”
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Noem also recalled a phone conversation with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley that revealed she felt “threatened” by the former presidential candidate.
“That's the thing about Nikki Haley: you never know who she'll be tomorrow,” Noem wrote. “She will become whatever the pollsters or donors tell her to be. And that should be very frightening for the American people. The people who know her best, including some colleagues in her home state, seem to have the same concerns.”
Nikki Haley hosts a rally in Conway as part of her swing in the Palmetto State ahead of the state's primaries, in Conway SC, United States on January 28, 2024. (Peter Zay)
After Haley's team told Politico that the story was a “twist” on the conversation, Noem told Fox News Digital that she was “not surprised” by the response.
“I think Nikki says whatever suits Nikki that day,” Noem told Fox. “I've been watching this for years. You never know who she'll be tomorrow. She's usually motivated by what works and what the polls say, and that's not the kind of politicians we need to lead our country.”
Reflecting on the Republican Party's losses in the 2022 midterm elections, Noem wrote that “our party's failure to gain a majority in the U.S. Senate was a failure of the Republican National Committee.” Noem added: “Donald Trump and a handful of brave people have broken politics. But what should we do now? Instead of “fixing” politics by going back to the “good old days,” let's step into the chaos and move the nation forward. The best days are truly ahead of us.”
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Noem's book will officially launch on Tuesday, May 7.
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“The new book is called No Going Back. And it's about what's wrong with politics and how we're going to move America forward. It's a lot about how Donald Trump really, when he entered the political scene, broke politics,” she says. said Fox. “And this book is the guidebook for everyday Americans on how they can be part of this country's progress.”
