South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem endorsed Donald Trump for president Friday night during a campaign rally in Rapid City. She is the fourth governor to endorse the former president during the Republican primary.

Traditionally, Republican governors remain neutral in a primary, waiting to get behind whoever comes out the winner for the nomination. For example, Iowa’s Governor is thought to be leaning toward Ron DeSantis but is not endorsing in the primary in order to let voters make up their own minds. The other three Republican governors who have endorsed Trump are Mike Dunleavy, Governor of Alaska, Jim Justice, Governor of West Virginia, and Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina. Of those, McMaster’s endorsement probably carries the most weight. Two Republicans from South Carolina are running in the primary – former Governor Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott. South Carolina is an early primary state.

Noem sure sounds like she is making a pitch to be Trump’s vice president choice, if he becomes the party’s nominee. Frankly, when I read that she would be endorsing Trump during a campaign rally on Friday, I didn’t think much of it, other than I don’t agree with governors weighing in during primary contests. She’s been a solid Trump supporter and campaigned for him in 2020.

Kristi Noem lost me, though, when I heard her speech as she endorsed Trump. She took unnecessary shots at the other candidates, especially somewhat veiled shots at fellow Governor Ron DeSantis, and ended up spreading lies in the process.

Noem told the crowd gathered in Rapid City that Trump has her “full and complete endorsement for president of the United States of America,” saying that she has seen him “take decisive action time and time again.”

“The only person in the race that I trust to do what needs to be done on these issues is President Trump. I haven’t seen these other candidates fight when it really mattered, when it was hard to do the right thing for our country,” Noem said.

Funny, she sounds just like Donald Trump in rewriting history. She said she hasn’t “seen these other candidates fight when it really mattered”, which is just nonsense. Ron DeSantis was lambasted for re-opening Florida after briefly following Trump’s guidance that all states shut down normal life. Trump was angry that DeSantis and other Republican governors re-opened their states before Washington bureaucrats like St. Fauci thought they should. Trump praised DeSantis for his leadership skills in Florida – he moved to Florida himself – before DeSantis challenged him in the GOP primary. Now Noem, who re-opened South Dakota quickly, too, wants to call others (DeSantis) cowardly. No bueno, Kristi. She’s like a high school mean girl who has to trash others to justify her own opinions. Sad.

She didn’t support the January 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill.

We are all entitled to peacefully protest. Violence is not a part of that. What’s happening in the Capitol right now must stop.

— Governor Kristi Noem (@GovKristiNoem) January 6, 2021

During the campaign rally on Friday night, Trump used language he used in the rally before the riot. It was his first public rally since he was indicted in Georgia.

Trump in his remarks doubled down on his claims that the 91 criminal charges against him are politically motivated and meant to keep him from reelection. Ramping up his rhetoric, he called on his supporters to “fight like hell” to “take back our country.”

“We will fight together, we will win together and then we will seek justice together,” he told the crowd.

Trump’s run for president is all about him and Noem is going along with him. Trump is clear that he will seek revenge – “justice” – if he serves a second term. That kind of rhetoric may be red meat to his core supporters but it won’t be for average voters who expect a president to make their lives better, not focus on their own personal battles.

Kristi issued lockdown orders before she didn’t.

Kristi Noem did issue lockdown / stay at home orders: https://t.co/ra2rmZRS9F

The state legislature stopped her from enacting the more draconian measures she sought: https://t.co/oroW3z8Fdh https://t.co/JvjBbEp7Aa

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 9, 2023

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp remembers the pandemic lockdowns. Trump now says he won’t comply with mandates again. Kemp was one whom Trump criticized when he re-opened Georgia when Trump thought it was too early to do that.

The fact is former president Trump led the opposition to my decision to reopen Georgia – the first state in the country to do so.

While he listened to Fauci & parroted media talking points, I listened to hardworking Georgians.

He may not remember, but I sure as hell do. https://t.co/8eWPidlnfP

— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) September 9, 2023

Noem is a former congresswoman. Her lifetime score from the Heritage Foundation was only 58%.

Can we shut down the "Kristi Noem for VP" talk, please? She had a Heritage Action lifetime score of 58% and has been bad on trans issues while pretending to be a leader. We don't need a Kamala Noem for VP. pic.twitter.com/JqmmZJhGac

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) September 8, 2023

As governor, she has not been strong in protecting kids from transgender activism. She vetoed a bill that would have barred transgender girls and women from women’s sports, though supporters say she signed two executive orders to ban men in women’s sports. Executive orders can be undone. Laws, not so easily.

When Trump owned the Miss Universe pageant, he took credit in 2012 for ending the pageant’s ban on transgender women.

Noem may be facing some aggressive competition from a couple of other Republican women for the vice president slot. Both Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake sure act like they are competing for the job, too. Just sayin’.