South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Houston, Texas, the United States, on May 27, 2022.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a former top contender for former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, suggested Sunday that the Republican presidential nominee should choose a female running mate.
“Having a woman campaigning for him makes a difference,” Noem said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Listen, I can lie in my bed at home and feed my horse or rock My grandson. “But I’m in Wisconsin because I believe President Trump needs to win. “
Noem added that female voters tend to prioritize small business policies, as well as child care and health care, an issue on which Trump trails President Joe Biden according to polls in recent months.
In March, a Quinnipiac University poll found that Trump’s approval rating among female voters fell 5 points after E. Jean Carroll filed a civil lawsuit over sexual assault and defamation claims. .
The former president has since been convicted of 34 felonies in a New York trial over hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Trump’s support from women also poses a threat to his electoral chances in 2016, especially after the leaked “Access Hollywood” tapes in which the Republican candidate made vulgar comments about women’s non-consensual sexual advances.
“All the polls are telling him that having a woman on the ticket helps him win in these battleground states,” Noem said Sunday.
Noem’s comments came as she also stepped up her allegiance to Trump despite being reportedly excluded from his shortlist of vice presidential candidates.
According to NBC News, Trump has narrowed the search to four top contenders: North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott Special and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
“I don’t care. I love my job in South Dakota,” Noem said Sunday of the reports.
Noem once held up an optimistic prospect as Trump’s potential running mate, but recent backlash over controversial anecdotes in her new memoir has lowered her standing. The clip describes a situation decades ago in which Norm decided to shoot her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket, because she claimed his inappropriate behavior posed a safety issue.
Noem has repeatedly stood by her decision to kill Cricket, including in an interview on Sunday: “This story is a story from 20 years ago about a mother who made a very difficult decision to protect her children from… Injuries from ferocious animals that attack livestock.
