James Antle of the Washington Examiner documents Kristi Noem’s new anti-media campaign.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) has embarked on a whirlwind media tour to beat back the puppy-shooting scandal that threatens to kill her political career.
There are few better fights for a Republican to pick than a brawl with the media. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s stern rebuke of a debate moderator won him the 2012 South Carolina primary. It was one of only two states he won that year and the first time South Carolina failed to back the winning candidate for the GOP presidential nomination since Ronald Reagan beat Gerald Ford at a state convention in 1976.
Reagan won the 1980 New Hampshire primary after a single-sentence dismissal of a debate moderator: “I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!” Reagan didn’t even have to get the moderator’s name right — it was the Nashua Telegraph’s Jon Breen — on his road to the White House.
Noem is testing whether these old dogs still hunt, this time in the form of a media tour promoting the book, No Going Back, that originally contained the anecdotes causing her troubles. She went on CBS’ Face the Nation to spar with host Margaret Brennan.
“This morning in our 15-minute interview, Margaret Brennan interrupted me 36 times — once every 25 seconds on average,” Noem posted on social media afterward, adding that liberals like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) are permitted to speak without interruption.
“In the fake news media, there are two sets of rules, and conservative are always treated differently,” Noem posted. “That’s why Americans don’t trust the Fake News.”
The title of Noem’s book, No Going Back, is itself a reference to not returning to pre-2016 Republican political norms, when GOP leaders were faulted for being too deferential to the media. “Fake news” is one of former President Donald Trump’s favorite catchphrases, rivaling “build the wall.”
