Kristi Noem says Trump ‘a few short weeks away’ from sealing GOP nomination

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), a rumored vice presidential pick for 2024 GOP front-runner Donald Trump, said the country is only “a few short weeks away” from having its Republican nominee for president: “It will be Donald J. Trump.”

The South Dakota governor was campaigning for him Wednesday in Iowa, where the first caucuses will take place Jan 15. She spoke admiringly of the former president, saying how, when he was in the White House, she was able to “be on offense.”

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“When Donald J. Trump was in the White House, and he was president of the United States, I got to be on offense,” she said in an appearance on CBS News. “I got to fight for my people, bring forward solutions to the problems that they’re facing.”

However, with President Joe Biden, Noem said she is in a constant defensive position. “All I do is try to defend my people, protect their freedoms, try to keep the federal government out of their pockets and off their backs,” she said.

Noem endorsed Trump’s presidential bid last year and has been speculated to be a running mate for him in 2024 should Trump win the Republican nomination. Speaking on Wednesday, she said she’s “excited” about him returning to the Oval Office.

Noem’s interview came after she spoke during a Trump commit to caucus event. She has pledged to be an active surrogate for the former president, claiming she will “do whatever I can that helps to get him across the finish line.”

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The Republican governor’s work on the campaign trail has only fueled speculation that she wants to be Trump’s vice president, in addition to her comments about presidential GOP challenger to Trump, Nikki Haley, being an alternative option.

“If he picked her, I would tell him I disagreed with him,” she said Tuesday.