WASHINGTON – South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is releasing a new book called “No Going Back,” but on Friday her office said she would return to correct some mistakes — including a false claim that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Republican governor’s new book was part of an open effort to be chosen as the running mate of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but has already faced bipartisan backlash for a story about how she once shot her hunting dog. Then, after scrutinizing her descriptions of meetings with international leaders, her spokesman, Ian Fury, said in a statement that it was a mistake to include Kim in a list of world leaders Noem has met — and that the publisher would correct any future editions of the book. book.
Noem’s political prospects were already slipping amid widespread disgust over the way she said she killed her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, named Cricket, after he showed aggressive behavior and killed her neighbor’s chickens.
In her soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem also describes instances in which she faced off against international leaders — anecdotes that would have given her foreign policy experience — but these were quickly called into question. She writes about the cancellation of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
After Dakota Scout first reported descriptions of Noem’s meetings, Fury said the book “has two small errors. This was communicated to the ghostwriter and the editor.”
In addition to the meeting with Kim, Fury said that Noem also confused the dates on which she spoke with former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.
“The book has not yet been released and all future editions will be corrected,” Fury added.
In a section of the book about meetings with international leaders, Noem writes: “During my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders – some who wanted our help, and others who wanted our help, and some who wanted our help. no.
“I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,” she writes. “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no idea of my experience facing down petty tyrants (after all, I was a children’s pastor).”
The description of such a meeting was quickly disputed and described as implausible by experts on US-North Korea relations. When Noem was a member of the House Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2015, relations between the two countries were tense and a congressional delegation meeting with Kim would have raised considerable awareness, said Syd Seiler, a former intelligence officer. of the United States who has spent decades working on relations with North Korea.
“Nothing like that happened,” he said, adding that he worked at the White House and the State Department during that period and was not notified of a congressional meeting with Kim.
Noem participated in an international congressional trip, known as a codel, to Japan, South Korea and China in 2014.
In the book, Noem also writes that she was “scheduled to meet” Macron last November, while in Paris for a conference of European conservative leaders, but canceled when he made comments she considered “pro-Hamas.”
However, Macron’s office told the Associated Press that no “direct invitation” was made for Noem to meet the French president, although it did not rule out that she may have been invited to an event in Paris, which he was also scheduled to attend. .
Fury said: “The governor was invited to sit in President Macron’s box for the Armistice Day Parade at the Arc de Triomphe. Following her anti-Israel comments, she chose to cancel.”
Meanwhile, Noem is trying to fend off backlash for writing about shooting her dog as well as a goat.
“Don’t believe the distorted spin of the #fakenews media,” she posted on social platform X this week. “I had to choose between the safety of my children and an animal that had a history of attacking people & killing cattle.”
Her spokesman, Fury, also called the scrutiny of errors in Noem’s book biased, saying: “The media will, of course, try to make these small problems huge.”
Still, members of Congress mocked Noem, with Reps. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat; Susan Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania; and Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina; launching a Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus this week.
Moskowitz said on X that one of the group’s rules was “you can’t kill a puppy.”
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Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
