{"id":36745,"date":"2024-01-27T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/kristi-noem-for-vice-president-trump-supporters-think-its-awesome\/"},"modified":"2024-01-27T06:00:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T11:00:40","slug":"kristi-noem-for-vice-president-trump-supporters-think-its-awesome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/kristi-noem-for-vice-president-trump-supporters-think-its-awesome\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristi Noem for vice president? Trump supporters think it\u2019s \u2018awesome\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While running for governor, Kristi Noem was joined by then-President Donald Trump for a Sioux Falls, S.D., fundraising event in 2018. Now she\u2019s a possible vice presidential choice. (Photo: Argus Leader)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

ROCK VALLEY, Iowa \u2013 Waiting in line for the sign-up table at his Iowa Caucus precinct on Monday night, Donavan Wallenburg was asked by a reporter if he\u2019s a Trump supporter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat gave it away?\u201d said the 43-year-old with a smirk, turning to reveal the back of his sweatshirt, which read: \u201cJESUS IS MY SAVIOR. TRUMP IS MY PRESIDENT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallenburg, who owns a trucking business, was hardly alone in his support of the former Republican president and 2024 primary frontrunner in this northwest Iowa community, about 15 miles from the South Dakota border in Sioux County.<\/p>\n

Rock Valley, hometown of former University of South Dakota and current Miami Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, is known for football, farming and Christian conservative politics, not necessarily in that order. Voters here helped Trump carry 51% of the statewide vote Monday in a record-setting Iowa Caucus performance for a Republican.<\/p>\n

With a likely rematch looming in November against Democratic President Joe Biden, talk has turned to Trump\u2019s choice for a running mate. Wallenburg, sporting a red \u201cTrump 2024\u201d baseball cap in the entrance to Rock Valley Community School, said his vice presidential preference would be South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a proven leader, especially through COVID,\u201d Wallenburg said. \u201cI\u2019m a business owner here in Iowa, but there were a lot of times I wished I would have been in South Dakota under what she had going on. She\u2019s also for farmers and the Second Amendment. She\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noem currently the betting favorite<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Dakota\u2019s governor, who served as a Trump surrogate on the Iowa campaign trail and endorsed him at a Rapid City, S.D., event<\/a><\/u> in September 2023, has not concealed her interest in joining the ticket.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s currently the betting favorite to get the nod from Trump, according to OddsChecker.com<\/a><\/u>. Noem is listed ahead of businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson; and former United Nations Ambassador and presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who finished third in Iowa behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Political betting market PredictIt.org<\/a><\/u> also has Noem as the favorite.<\/p>\n

Stefanik, the House GOP Conference Chairwoman, is scheduled to campaign with Trump in New Hampshire this week, fueling speculation about her vice presidential prospects and her desire to be part of the ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration,\u201d she said recently on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump said during a Fox News town hall on Jan. 10 that he knew who his VP pick was going to be<\/a><\/u>, though his campaign walked that statement back the following day. He didn\u2019t announce Mike Pence as a running mate until July 2016, but there are indications that the 2024 pick could emerge earlier, potentially cutting short Noem\u2019s second term as South Dakota\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s clearly positioned herself as a national figure in Republican circles and one who is a Trump loyalist to boot,\u201d Jon Schaff, a political science professor at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., told News Watch. \u201cGiven Trump\u2019s history, the number of Republicans he can reasonably choose from is a little lower than normal because he\u2019s alienated or openly criticized many Republican officeholders. I would be surprised if Noem wasn\u2019t among the two or three finalists. From there, it\u2019s a bit of a crap shoot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Border security tops caucus concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rock Valley caucus site hosted three of the roughly 1,670 precincts sprinkled throughout Iowa in school gyms, cafeterias and churches. The Republican format features caucus captains making speeches about their candidate before blank slips of paper are provided for everyone to write down votes.<\/p>\n

The Trump caucus captain in Rock Valley was 57-year-old David Honse, a Gulf War veteran and father of seven who took the auditorium stage after the Pledge of Allegiance. He praised Trump\u2019s White House policies in contrast to Biden\u2019s administration, particularly as they pertain to the Southern border, more than 1,000 miles from northwest Iowa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to look around our nation right now, you could very easily understand and see that we are nowhere near as safe as we were in 2020,\u201d said Honse. \u201cThe border is wide open. We are having trouble with rampant invasion in our southern states.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Associated Press poll<\/a><\/u> found that roughly 4 in 10 Iowa caucus-goers cited immigration as the most important issue facing America, with the economy second. The poll also found that about 9 in 10 caucus-goers said they backed building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, an increase from 2016.<\/p>\n

In her State of the State Address<\/a><\/u>, Noem talked about visiting South Dakota National Guard troops at the border in September 2023 and seeing the \u201cinhumanity of Biden\u2019s failed policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honse\u2019s speech was met with applause from an audience that mirrored the demographic profile of Sioux County, which is 86% white with nearly 20% of its residents 65 and older. Trump garnered 82.3% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, making it Biden\u2019s second-worst Iowa county. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win here was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.<\/p>\n

\u2018Forthright in the freedoms of citizens\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

After leaving the stage, Honse expressed his admiration for South Dakota\u2019s governor when asked about vice presidential options. He cited the state\u2019s laissez-faire approach to the pandemic, a narrative that Noem has carefully crafted as part of her freedom-focused national brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the way that she was able to keep South Dakota open during COVID and her thoughts about how she has been very forthright in the freedoms of the citizens of her state,\u201d said Honse, who works for an agricultural wholesaler and is active in Rock Valley\u2019s American Legion. \u201cI think that type of governance would be moved forward in her role as a vice president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some South Dakota conservatives have questioned the validity of Noem\u2019s libertarian credentials<\/a>, noting that she closed schools in the spring of 2020<\/a><\/u> and proposed laws seeking more authority for state and county health officials<\/a><\/u> to shutter businesses that violated CDC guidelines.<\/p>\n

Honse, who also thinks former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson would make a good VP choice, acknowledged a degree of nuance to pandemic policies when comparing Noem\u2019s approach to that of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, an ally of DeSantis in the primary race.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a resident of Iowa, I do think that Noem did some things better than what our governor did, but that was a unique time for all parties involved,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that we could have all done some things better and we could have done some things worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

How important is a running mate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are varied opinions on the significance of running mates to presidential tickets.<\/p>\n

Schaff said that the essential rule is to \u201cdo no harm,\u201d avoiding calamities such as South Dakota Democratic nominee Sen. George McGovern selecting Sen. Thomas Eagleton in 1972 and then having to change course after reports emerged that Eagleton had undergone electroshock treatment for depression.<\/p>\n

Sen. John McCain\u2019s off-the-board choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to join the Republican ticket in 2008 is often cited as one of the reasons for his defeat to Barack Obama. George H.W. Bush, however, won in 1988 despite tabbing inexperienced and gaffe-prone Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle as his running mate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoem wouldn\u2019t hurt Trump,\u201d said Schaff. \u201cOf course, she is from an electorally unimportant state that will vote Trump anyway. So she doesn\u2019t really gain him any particular electorate. But part of the job of the VP is to be an aggressive defender of the top of the ticket and play a bit of the \u2018pit bull\u2019 role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaff believes Noem would be well-suited to that role on the campaign trail or on a debate stage with Vice President Kamala Harris. Others have mentioned Noem\u2019s lack of experience with mainstream media<\/a> and reliance on friendly conservative outlets, a far cry from the scrutiny that a national campaign would bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s well-spoken enough and comfortable in her own skin that she can take on that spokesperson or attack dog role quite easily,\u201d countered Schaff. \u201cTo that extent, she helps (the campaign). Clearly, though, this election will not hinge on Kristi Noem, or whomever is chosen, versus Kamala Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m just looking for a president\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in the hallway, Trump-supporting business owner Wallenburg spotted a message on a school poster that proclaimed \u201cYou\u2019re as Unique as Snowflakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait \u2026 isn\u2019t that political?\u201d he said to no one in particular.<\/p>\n

Asked about Noem again, he contrasted her with Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump cabinet member who is hoping to cut into Trump\u2019s lead in next week\u2019s New Hampshire Primary. Wallenburg sees Haley as too \u201cweak\u201d to handle the role of running mate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoem is tough,\u201d he said. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t allow people to push her around, and that\u2019s what Trump likes. So I could see Trump picking her and I hope that he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallenburg said his business, 323 Trucking, thrived during the Trump administration. He then bought a NAPA Auto Parts franchise in Sioux Center in 2020, expanding the inventory and piping in Christian music to customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t work under Biden, so I sold that business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As for Trump\u2019s war of words with Reynolds, the Iowa governor, Wallenburg thinks the former president should tone it down a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should probably be nicer to her,\u201d he said. \u201cTrump\u2019s not in it to make friends, but sometimes I wish he didn\u2019t say everything that he does. You know what, though? Just read my shirt. I\u2019m not looking for a savior. I\u2019m just looking for a president.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Kristi Noem for vice president? Trump supporters think it\u2019s \u2018awesome\u2019<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

While running for governor, Kristi Noem was joined by then-President Donald Trump for a Sioux Falls, S.D., fundraising event in 2018. Now she\u2019s a possible vice presidential choice. (Photo: Argus Leader) \u00a0 ROCK VALLEY, Iowa \u2013 Waiting in line for the sign-up table at his Iowa Caucus precinct on Monday <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> January 27, 2024<\/p>\n

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