Gov. Kristi Noem: GOP Needs to Reevalute How to Keep Promises to the American People

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem gives a State of the State address in Pierre, S.D., on Jan. 8, 2019. James Nord/AP Photo

South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem has said that although it’s clear Democrat leadership does not work, the Republican Party has not done enough for the American people either and needs to reflect on how to keep the promises it’s made to constituents, particularly on healthcare and immigration.

“Leadership has consequences, and we saw Democratic leadership play out in our cities, in our country in 2020—violence, mobs, rioting, looting, lack of enforcement of laws. That’s Democrat leadership on display. In that Federalist piece, I talked extensively about Republicans, what we haven’t followed through on and what we need to do in the future,” she said in an interview with Newsmax about an opinion piece she wrote for the Federalist.

“We said we would reform health care, repeal ObamaCare. We have not done that. We said we would deal with immigration. We have not done that. There’s a lot of different promises that we’ve made to the American people that we just have not had the fortitude to pursue and actually get into place and impact their lives,” Noem continued.

In her article, Noem condemned the Jan. 6 violence at the Capital but said it’s time to stop pointing fingers for why the attack on the Capital happened, why Republicans lost control of the Senate, and start taking responsibility to meet the needs of the American people based on the founding principles in the Constitution.

“So, the Republican Party has a self-evaluation they need to go through,” Noem said. “And we really need to focus on making sure we’re doing what we say. I’ve always watched every single president, and I’ve watched their actions of what they’ve actually put into place with policies. We as Republicans need to make sure we follow-through with everything we say we stand for as well.”

Democrats and some Republicans have blamed former President Donald Trump for inciting the breach at the Capitol building despite his calls for protesters to act “peacefully and patriotically.” But Noem said it is the government’s failure and in particular, Republicans’ own failure for not living up to the principles that the GOP was founded on.

Democrats have unanimously called for Impeaching Trump a second time over the attack on the Capital, and give Republicans have joined their efforts.

However, Noem praised the former president for following through on what he promised and having policies that honor individual freedom and the ability to build a prosperous life, as envisioned in the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.

“President Trump did things of great magnitude for this country. What he did on tax reform, on trade deals, his support of Israel, his protection of our national defense, his enforcement of our laws,” Noem said.

“This man got up every single day and fought for the common everyday Americans so that they could have a chance to be successful and pursue the American dream. His legacy is going to be remembered as one of the greatest presidents that we’ve had because of the policies he pursued and the fact that he actually did what he campaigned on and he followed through on it,” she added.

Noem made an appeal to Republicans to reflect on the core values of the party, that are enshrined in the Constitution, which she said respects each individual’s God-given rights and freedoms.

South Dakota is one of the states that did not shut down its small businesses or places of worship during the pandemic, instead relying on individuals to make decisions to keep themselves safe.

“As I told you all last month, we’re in a much stronger financial position than other states across the country. States that shut down their economies are now looking at tax increases or drastic spending cuts to make ends meet,” Noem said in her State of the Union address in January, adding, “We continue to get good news about South Dakota’s revenue situation. Ongoing general fund revenues are up to tens of millions of dollars through December, compared to last fiscal year.”

Noem has received sharp criticism for not mandating masks and social distancing rules throughout her state.