Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is touting a new business product on social media, just days after a lawsuit was filed against her for previously championing cosmetic dentistry work online.
The South Dakota governor posted a video on X Thursday evening touting Fit My Feet, which has several locations in the Mount Rushmore State, for building Noem insoles for her running shoes and cowboy shoes.
“These guys are amazing,” Noem says in the 24-second video. “I’m going to be perfect. I’m going to be like bionic woman now.”
The nearly five-minute video showed several closeups of the governor’s new smile provided by Smile Texas, a cosmetic dentistry group not based in South Dakota.
Among some of the criticisms was the question of why Noem snubbed dentists in her own state to travel more than 1,100 miles to Sugar Land, Texas, for the operation.
It appears that Noem is subtly responding to those criticisms by allowing Fit My Feet to tout its locations in South Dakota.
As the drama was building up, Noem held several town halls across the state. The governor touted these stops at local businesses in another sign of her indirectly responding to criticism.
On Thursday morning, Noem held a town hall at Common Grounds coffee shop in Spearfish, South Dakota. She later championed the business on social media.
Common Grounds coffee in Spearfish is a fantastic coffee shop. Corey and Kelli are the owners, and they love America! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Stop by the next time you’re in town! pic.twitter.com/XZgZRxcMNT
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 14, 2024
The Washington Examiner reached out to Noem’s office for comment on both the Fit My Feet post and the cosmetic dentistry videos.
Her office has remained silent on whether Noem was compensated or received a discounted rate on the procedure in exchange for posting the dentistry video.
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The nonprofit group Travelers United sued Noem in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia over the “misleading and deceptive advertising case.”
Travelers United alleged that Noem’s infomercial-style video was comparable to the work of influencers on social media.
“Governor Kristi Noem is the Governor of South Dakota for a living but seems to have taken up work as a social media influencer as of March 12, 2024,” the lawsuit alleged. “It is not uncommon for social media influencers to work part-time as influencers while holding another job.”
The questions over Noem’s ethical behavior come amid speculation she could be a top contender to join former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign as his running mate.