“Did you meet Kim Jong-un?” is a yes or no question. And the only reason Brennan is asking about it is because Noem wrote that she had done so in her own book.

“This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book. And as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.” As soon as it was brought to her attention? She’s the narrator of the audiobook version! It’s not uncommon for celebrities, politicians, and elected officials to use ghostwriters in their books. It is uncommon for them to act like they didn’t read their own memoir until it was published.*

The problem here is either A) Noem is not all that sharp or B) Noem thought that this anecdote would make her look tough and resolute to Trump as he contemplated his running-mate options, completely miscalculated, and is now desperately flailing for some sort of exculpatory counternarrative. There’s a laziness on display here, because, “It’s all the liberal media’s fault” just doesn’t fit when you’re the one who voluntarily told stories of puppy-killing and made false claims about meeting world leaders.