The first law of holes is that if you find yourself in one, stop digging. After nearly two weeks of public humiliation, Kristi Noem may have finally gotten the memo. At least, it appears she has finally taken her vice presidential aspirations out to behind the gravel pit, and put her ill-fated media tour out of its misery.
All that is left to do is to ponder how a once-promising rising star—the South Dakota governor was considered to be on Donald Trump’s “short list” as a potential running mate—could so quickly implode, based on a book that she ostensibly wrote.
When the controversy first erupted, the focus was on Noem having shot and killed the family dog, Cricket. That was bad, but there was another shoe about to drop: Noem also claimed that she had met (and stared down) North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a boast that appears to be erroneous. This gave the book controversy legs.
ADVERTISEMENT
Noem’s refusal to answer basic questions only compounded her problems. Regarding meeting Kim Jong Un, her incessantly repeated non-answer was some version of, “I’ve met with many, many world leaders. I’ve traveled around the world… I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders.”
Rather than appearing chastened or humbled by this experience, Noem displayed a brazen, aggressive, and pugilistic posture, even as her claims continued to fall apart.
For example, Noem said that she asked her publisher, Center Street (disclosure: Noem and I share the same publisher) to remove the North Korean dictator’s name once she “became aware” of his inclusion in the book. The only problem? Noem recorded the audio version of her book long before the decision to excise mention of the dictator.
When asked about that, Noem refused to discuss this discrepancy.
Eventually, friendly outlets started turning against her. This created a permission structure where she became fair game, even for conservative hosts. A feeding frenzy ensued, leading Noem to pull the plug on subsequent interviews.
We can only speculate as to why Noem a) volunteered damaging information in her book to begin with, and why she b) so badly botched the subsequent crisis management.
As to the former, Noem likely believed that telling these tales would boost her chances with Trump. This would make her at least the second potential veep pick to blow up on the tarmac as a result of trying to be the person she thought Trump wanted her to be (the first example being Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, whose disastrous State of the Union response likely doomed her chances).
But what explains the failure to effectively manage the fallout, once it became clear she had made a mistake by publishing these accounts?
One plausible explanation is that trying to clean up this mess would be like polishing a turd. This is to say that there is no way to defend the indefensible.
Could a contrite and compassionate politician have wiped away tears while explaining that a lot of Americans just can’t relate to rugged life on a ranch or farm in South Dakota, where (depending on whom you ask) killing dogs is common?
With a high degree of difficulty, it’s possible. Bill Clinton, I suspect, could have pulled it off.
The Kim Jong Un story might be even trickier—assuming she made the whole thing up. But if she really met the dictator, she should say so. And if a ghostwriter accidentally got the facts wrong, she should say that.
A big clue to Noem’s thinking can be found in the title of her book, No Going Back.
During the Trump era, there is a sense that one can lie with impunity, so long as you never let them see you sweat, and never back down. Being a MAGA Republican, in other words, means never having to say you’re sorry.
One problem with this philosophy is that while bluster and belligerence can sometimes work, they are merely one tool in the communicator’s toolbox.
Sometimes, the public can be persuaded by a good explanation. Sometimes, the public is willing to accept a heartfelt apology. But when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The even bigger problem is that Trump’s Teflon magic isn’t transferable to mere mortals.
By his example, Donald Trump has trained a generation of Republicans that acting like a bully always works, and that if you're explaining you're losing. While that is often true, what’s also true is that if you're not explaining… you’re not explaining.
Trump’s “always-on-offense” style might work for him, but his example should come with a warning label for the Kristi Noems of the world: “Do NOT, under any circumstances, attempt this at home.”
After almost two weeks’ of shoveling Trumpian B.S., Noem, it seems, has finally stopped digging.
