Gov. Noem to Newsmax: Memoir 'Not a Typical Political Book'

South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem, who has come under fire recently for revelations in her new memoir, including controversies over a meeting she describes with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and her recollections of killing a hunting dog on her ranch, Tuesday on Newsmax defended the book as a "blueprint for the average American citizen."

"It's not a typical political book," Noem told "Wake Up America." "It takes some vulnerable stories from my life, some painful experiences, hard decisions ... and lets people learn from them and then also what they can do to engage with their government.'

She added that most people can gather from the book that politicians in the past have "hid from the truth. They've run from making tough decisions. That's just not me."

But when show anchor Rob Finnerty pressed Noem on the controversy over her statements in the book on Kim Jong Un, and told her that he doesn't "think you're on the list" to become a running mate to former President Donald Trump, the governor insisted that she has had the part about the North Korean dictator changed.

"You say that 'I remember when I met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,'" Finnerty told her. "'I'm sure he underestimated me having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants.' Governor, that never happened."

"What I have said in the book is that when I became aware of the content that we had It changed, and that's the way that it is," she responded. "I'm not going to talk about my conversations with world leaders. I've been involved in policy for 30 years. For 30 years I've been traveling the world talking to world leaders."

She also would not confirm the meeting after Finnerty asked her to specify when it happened.

"I'm asking if the meeting actually happened," he asked her. "And I think if it did, you'd be able to confirm for me that yes, it did."

"I'm not going to talk about my conversation," she told him. "The average American citizen is more worried about the border. They're more worried about what we see in the White House and a president that since January has gone out there and misled the American people over 150 times."

Meanwhile, when it comes to Trump picking an eventual running mate, Noem said that he "knows for a fact that I want him to win, and I want him to pick the person that will help him win, because American needs him to be in the White House."

She added that she has spoken with Trump "a lot" and that she has supported him since his first election in 2016, "when very few Republicans or anybody supported him."

Noem was at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate over the weekend for his fundraiser, along with several other potential running mates, but left the event early, according to Trump's campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"I had a brand new grandbaby," Noem told Newsmax on Tuesday. "My daughter had a baby, and I went home to see my new grandbaby."

The governor also added to the discussion about her dog Cricket, whose killing has brought outrage on both sides of the aisle.

"This is a story that people have known and talked about for years and my political opponents have tried to use it against me," she said. "That this was a dog that was dangerous … I had to make a decision as a mom between protecting my kids and people or a dangerous animal."

She also said that despite the controversies, she hopes people will read her book and "understand that when you bring a diversity of perspectives to the table, we get better policy."

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