Analysis reveals the real reason conservative media turned on Noem

08 May 2024

Kristi Noem's new book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward," was designed to be a major promotional tool for the South Dakota governor. But so far, it has been an ongoing source of controversy.

First, Noem was slammed on both the left and the right after The Guardian reported that in an anecdote in the book, Noem describes taking a puppy to a gravel pit on a farm and fatally shooting it. Then, the Dakota Scout reported that a meeting with North Korean communist dictator Kim Jong Un that Noem describes in her book is very much "in dispute."

Pundits on MSNBC have been vehemently critical of Noem. And now, the governor is also receiving negative coverage from right-wing outlets like Fox News and Newsmax TV — a trend that the Washington Post's Aaron Blake explains in a column published on May 8.

After receiving the "softballs in a storm" treatment from Fox News' Sean Hannity and Newsmax's Eric Bolling, Blake observes, Noem suddenly became the target of hardball coverage from those cable news outlets.

Newsmax's Rob Finnerty called her out on the Jong Un controversy, saying that her alleged meeting with the North Korean dictator was a total fabrication. Noem also became the target of a scathing parody from Fox News hosts Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino and a forceful grilling from Fox Business' Stuart Varney.

"Conservative media has begun to turn on Noem, actually grilling her over her book and even ridiculing her," Blake observes. "Why? It's pretty evident, and it's the same reason conservative media and the GOP often turn on their own after putting up with plenty: She's become a perceived liability for the brand…. Conservative media and the GOP can ignore and try to cover for plenty — until they decide you've become a problem for the red team."

Blake notes that right-wing media outlets were favorable to former Reps. George Santos (R-New York), Madison Cawthorn (R-North Carolina) and Steve King (R-Iowa) for a long time but turned against them when they started seeing them as liabilities for the Republican Party.

"If you look closely at Noem's increasingly contentious interviews on conservative media," Blake argues, "you'll see an acknowledgment that this is really about the same thing. It seems to be sending a signal that it would be better for all involved for Noem to fade away, and certainly that Trump should think twice about putting her on the ticket."

Aaron Blake's full Washington Post column is available at this link (subscription required).

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