Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/07/i-dont-have-conversations-about-conversations-kristi-noem-says-about-her-made-up-encounter-with-kim-jong-un.html
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Shorter Noem: "How dare you ask me about things I wrote in my book?
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What I don’t get is why on earth would Noem continue to make promotional appearances knowing that each one further humiliates her and feeds the derision?
I’d be slithering back to my hole in South Dakota if I was her - but no - she’s doubling down.
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“I’ve been to the DMZ,” said Noem. “I’ve been to North Korea.”
No she hasn’t. The DMZ lies between North and South Korea. Even when she’s trying to undo a lie - she lies again.
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Starting to regret letting ChatGPT write her memoir.
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I think she meant to say she’s been on TMZ. May have felt like she was close to a Red threat.
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I don’t have conversations about my conversations with world leaders.
Apparently she doesn’t have any memory of them, either.
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Her publisher tried to keep the puppy murder out of her book, but the fine politician insisted that it be put back in:
Twelve imprint warned her that “puppy killer” was not going be a good look. Then as now, Noem thought the story of her shooting Cricket, a poorly behaved 14-month-old German wirehaired pointer, would be a resonant anecdote showing her toughness and refusal to bend to “political correctness.”
(oh how the maga brings out the ‘best’ of the ‘best’)
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She’s actually been to the Korean DMZ. She could say she “met” Kim Jong Un in the way that Mike Pence did. Standing on the South Korea side of the DMZ and glaring angrily across at the North. Sure, that’s ridiculous to most people, but it is actually something that is impressive to the people she is trying to connect with.
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“Governor Noem said yesterday that when she said that she had been to the DMZ, she misspoke. She actually meant to say that she had once listened to an album by Run DMC. When asked which album, and what she thought of it, Governor Noem declined to answer and said that she was there to talk about politics, not pop music.”
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I think it’s a weird phenomenon related to the Dunning-Kruger effect that’s specific to MAGA. They see Trump lie constantly, and he always gets away with it, and his fans always accept his lies, and even when the opposition calls him out for the lies, it has no negative impact on his support. So they think they can do the same thing. And then when they say something, and people don’t immediately just accept it, they assume it’s an anomaly and they double down, expecting the devoted to then fall in line like they do for Trump. They have overestimated their ability to do this compared with Trump’s, in that I think it’s an ability unique to Trump. It just doesn’t seem to work for anyone else. That’s not exactly Dunning-Kruger, but a Trump corollary, maybe.
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Her self-immolation is perfect timing. She honestly frightens me more than any other VP contender; she’s attractive, coherent, stays on message and has a good reputation among the lunatic right. She could be a real threat if trump let her be his avatar during the election, especially because he’ll be spending so much time away from the trail.
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And that, in a nutshell, is the whole MAGAt mindset. DARVO writ large.
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Sunk costs. The American political process has been so diluted and sullied by this point, some people think nothing matters except looking like the ‘correct’ type of person who is fit to hold power.
(Also what @danimagoo said, 
)
White supremacy is a helluva drug, apparently…
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I like that this little nugget slipped through:
I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).
Although unlike dog killing, mistreating children in her role as a youth pastor (assuming she’s not lying about that, too) actually fits MAGA’s definition of being a good Christian, i.e., be as un-Christ-like as possible at all times.
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I think people are way off on some of these VP contenders. Trump is never going to pick someone with a strong personality, because there’s a chance that person could, not all the time but occasionally, overshadow Trump or at least take some of the spotlight away from him. I also doubt he’s going to pick a woman or a person of color. He’s going to pick a new Mike Pence. A straight white dude with zero personality. There is one of the VP contenders who fits that description. Doug Burgum. That’s who I’d put my money on, if I were inclined to bet on it.
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There are Republican politicians who have managed to ride a tide of what most people would consider humiliating publicity to high office. It takes a certain combination of personal traits to pull it off though.
For example, one of the differences between Trump and Noem is that when Trump is called out for a ridiculous bald-faced lie he doubles down instead of retreating or apologizing or admitting even the possibility of factual error. He doesn’t just gaslight the public, he supernovas them. For the MAGA crowd, that kind of delusion is a sign of strength whereas Noem’s excuses and constantly changing narratives just look pathetic.
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Also, he’s not going to pick a woman, either. He’ll pick a white man, because that’s who he believes should be given any power. Note that the women he had working in his previous administration, few of them had roles that were of any real power. Women were part of the press team, and in the case of the education department, he picked DeVos, since education is seen as highly gendered field. He’d never put a woman in a position like VP.
I’m guessing he settles on Vance?
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Same with people of color.
I thought about Vance, but he has a pretty strong personality, and he’s not a true believer. He opposed Trump initially, but swung around when he decided it could help him get elected. Trump will use him if he can, but I don’t think he will make him VP unless he has dirt on Vance he can use to keep him in line.
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Yep, which makes all the contortions of Tim Scott despairingly hilarious… Of course he’s not gonna pick Scott, no matter how much he tries to gain Trumps favor.
Good point, but I don’t know that Trump really cares, as long as he plays the part… But yeah, true about his strong personality. And it’s clear he’s positioning himself to run in 2028, and hopes to be the VP pick to put him in that position (whether or not Trump wins this year).
Oh, true enough… I think he ended up going with Pence because Pence is just… so bland and boring…
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