South Dakota Governor Says She Hasn’t Been Vetted as Trump VP Pick

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Kristi Noem indicated during a television interview on June 23 that she has talked with the former president but has not received any paperwork.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem indicated in a Sunday interview that she has not been formally vetted as a possible running mate for former President Donald Trump, who said he knows who he will choose.

“I haven’t received any paperwork. No, I haven’t,” Ms. Noem, a Republican, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on June 23. “I’ve had conversations with the president, and I know that he is the only one who will be making the decisions on who will be his vice president.”

At the start of this year, Ms. Noem was considered by media outlets to be a leading running mate pick for former President Trump. However, her political stock dropped in April when she released a book that detailed a decades-old incident in which she described shooting one of her dogs.

She defended her actions as necessary because the dog was acting aggressively toward her children and had killed livestock and attacked her.

Both Ms. Noem and former President Trump spoke at a Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington on June 22, according to video footage posted online.

Earlier in June, the governor told CNN that she believes that the former president, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, should choose a woman because it would send a message to women voters and increase his chances of winning the 2024 election.

“All the polls tell him in these swing states that a woman on the ticket helps him win,” she told the outlet at the time.

When questioned about her previous comment during the NBC interview, Ms. Noem appeared to clarify her stance. Instead, former President Trump should “pick the best person for the job” and “pick someone that will help him win.”

“And I think that President Trump is in a fantastic position to win this election. He’s strong. He’s right on all the policies. He needs to pick somebody who will help him win and make sure that he’s back in the White House fighting for America,” she said.

Her remarks followed comments by the former president to reporters on June 22 that he has decided on his running mate. He has not revealed who it is, but added that this person will be at the presidential debate on June 27 with President Joe Biden. CNN is hosting the 90-minute event.

“They’ll be there,” former President Trump said on June 22, referring to the candidate. “I think we have a lot of people coming.”

The 45th president has said that he would announce his running mate during the Republican National Convention in mid-July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he is expected to be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate for the general election.

Recently, former President Trump listed six Republicans who could be his running mate. They include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

“I think we have to just look at the fact that President Trump could win this race regardless of who his vice president is,” Mr. Burgum told CNN on June 23 in answer to a question about whether he could be vice president. “He’s got the luxury of not having to pick someone.”

Brian Hughes, a top senior adviser to former President Trump, said in a statement that the campaign is looking for a vice presidential candidate who is “a strong leader who will make a great president for eight years after his next four-year term concludes.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the campaign for comment.