Kristi Noem, Trump Veepstakes Contender, Heads to Mar-a-Lago for Private Meeting

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, one of the MAGA Republicans vying to become Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, went to Mar-a-Lago for a one-on-one meeting with the former president on Monday, reports say.

Noem’s office told The Dakota Scout that she had extended her out-of-state trip after she spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) in Maryland over the weekend where she burnished her pro-Trump credentials, reminding attendees that she had been “one of the first people to endorse Donald J. Trump to be our next president.”

Kristi Noem Says Trump Needs Someone Like Her as VP PICK ME!

Allison Quinn, Martha Mercer

It’s not clear what was discussed at the private meeting at Trump’s residence, which was also reported by KDLT-TV and the Daily Caller. But it comes amid feverish speculation about who the GOP frontrunner will ask to be his running mate for the presidential election. A straw poll at CPAC saw Noem tied with Vivek Ramaswamy in the top spot of who the attendees would like to see Trump choose as his vice president, with both garnering 15 percent of the vote.

During the event, Noem also gave a speech in which she took a shot at those who ran against Trump for the 2024 nomination, saying she didn’t consider entering the race herself because she knew no one could get more support than the former president.

“So why did all these other people and candidates get into the race?” she asked. “For themselves. For personal benefit. For a spotlight for a period of time. But it did not and it does not strengthen our country if conservatives are united enough to recognize that we need to win,” she said.

She went on to say that Trump “broke politics in 2016” and “I think that’s a good thing.” “Because he’s real,” Noem said. “He’s not perfect—none of us are. But he cares about you. And what I love about him the most is that he doesn’t think he’s better than you.”