The rising Republican politician claimed last week she ordered changes to her soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” after learning it falsely said she met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
“I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, I’m sure he underestimated me having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants. I’ve been a children’s pastor after all,” Noem wrote in her book about an interaction with the North Korean leader that never happened, as Politico reported last week.
CBS News’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan pressed Noem on Sunday about the false passage in her book.
“Did you meet Kim Jong Un?” Brennan asked the governor.
“I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I’m just not going to do that,” Noem said. “This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.”
Later Sunday, Noem’s book publisher released a statement. “At the request of Governor Noem, we are removing a passage regarding Kim Jong Un from her book No Going Back, upon reprint of the print edition and as soon as technically possible on the audio and ebook editions,” it said.
In other words, the audiobook version of Noem’s memoir narrated by the governor herself will have to be edited as well, meaning Noem read the false North Korea statement aloud for the recording without correcting it.
A representative from Noem’s office did not respond to Business Insider’s question about why the governor didn’t report the error sooner. CBS News asked Noem a similar question during their interview, leading the governor to accuse the host of treating her “differently than every other person” she’s spoken with on the show.
The rollout for Noem’s forthcoming book has been a diaster.
The Guardian obtained an early copy of Noem’s book in late April, and revealed that Noem wrote about shooting her family’s 14-month-old dog in a gravel pit.
She’s since defended the passage, adding that she recently also killed three horses. Noem has also said that President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, should be put down after it reportedly bit several Secret Service agents.
The Daily Beast reported on May 3 that sources close to former President Donald Trump said Noem’s recent negative attention effectively disqualified her from becoming his vice presidential running mate, calling it “political suicide.”
But a fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, Trump was recorded saying she was “somebody that I love.”
