South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) believes GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump should pick a female running mate.
“I think that that would be beneficial, according to the polling that I’ve seen for him and a lot of swing states, is that having a woman that is helping his campaign makes a difference,” she said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Noem, herself, is vying for the position with a handful of other Republicans.
“All the polls tell him in the swing states that a woman on the ticket helps him win,” she said. “One in four Republican women haven’t made up their minds because they want to have a woman talking to them about the issues they care about. And women aren’t monolithic. They don’t care about just one issue.”
“They care about health care; they care about their children; they care about their futures. They care about having an opportunity to have a business and to have a career. And all of that is being threatened [under] Joe Biden, but yes, the women vote is extremely important,” she said.
Trump has sent vetting materials to some contenders, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and JD Vance (R-Ohio), a source told The Hill.
According to ABC News Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Ben Carson were also sent materials, but it’s not clear what they actually received.
Noem said she’s been loyal to Trump, but would not say if she is being considered for the vice president role.
“I told President Trump over and over again, he needs to pick whoever helps him win. I have been loyal to him since the very beginning when he first started to run in 2016,” she said.
“He told me his priority is picking a running mate that can govern on day one, that has been loyal to him, that has experience and runs businesses, knows how to be a CEO, but also supports him in his policies. I don’t care. I love my job in South Dakota. I care about the fact that I want him to win, and he knows that I will do that,” she said.
Noem was heavily criticized when she wrote in her memoir — “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward” — that she killed a puppy she deemed untrainable, per IJR.
When the story contained in the memoir was released, Laura Loomer, a right-wing media personality, denounced Noem and said she lost her chance to be vice president.
“She can’t be VP now,” Loomer said on X, formerly Twitter. “You can’t shoot your dog and then be VP.”
