Trump’s potential running mate misled readers on Macron ‘meeting’
Kristi Noem claimed that she canceled a meeting with the French president because of his supposed “pro-Hamas” statements.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s office said she was never invited to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, despite her claim that she canceled such a meeting due to anti-Israel statements by the French president.
He added: “While I was in Paris, I was scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.” Noem wrote in her book, “No Going Back.” “However, the day before our meeting he made what I considered to be a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press. So I decided to cancel.”
The meeting was apparently scheduled to take place last November, when Israel bombed Gaza following a surprise Hamas attack on the Jewish state.
An official from Macron’s office told NBC News last week that Noem was never invited or scheduled to meet with the French president.
A Noem spokesperson told NBC when asked to respond on Friday “The Governor was invited to sit in President Macron’s booth to attend the Armistice Day parade at the Arc de Triomphe.”
“Following his anti-Israel statements, she chose to cancel the meeting.” The spokesman said, adding that Macron “He didn’t end up showing up either.”
Earlier this year, former US President Donald Trump named Noem as a potential vice presidential nominee, adding the North Dakotan to a list of potential vice presidential nominees that now includes South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and Ohio State Senator J.D. Vance. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
However, the release of No Going Back earlier this month has plunged Noem into a storm of negative publicity. An anecdote in the book about a 14-month-old puppy being shot for behavioral issues sparked outrage on social media, but Noem doubled down and insisted. “Tough decisions like this happen all the time on the farm.”
Noem also included an anecdote about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a trip to Asia in 2014. When reporters pointed out that meeting never happened, Noem said the clip was included by mistake. However, she refused to admit that she had never met Kim.
With conservative and liberal pundits alike saying it is now unlikely that Trump will pick Noem as his running mate, the former president said last week: “She’s had a tough couple of days. I’ll say that.”
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