Noem pressed about Kim Jong Un story in testy interview: ‘I’m giving you my answer’

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) was pressed about a passage in her book in which she describes a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while traveling during her days in Congress.

“Did you meet with Kim Jong Un,” Elizabeth Vargas, an anchor on cable news channel NewsNation, asked Noem during a Monday appearance on the network.

“When this was brought to my attention, I immediately took actions and asked to have his name removed,” Noem responded.

“But why did you remove it, is it because it’s untrue, that passage?” Vargas pressed.

“This is something I think I’m not going to talk about. … I don’t talk about personal meetings with world leaders, and I’m going to continue to stay there,” Noem said.

“But clearly if you’re taking it out of the book it’s because it’s untrue,” Vargas pressed Noem again.

“I’m giving you my answer, and no, that’s not the answer,” Noem responded. “This is something I asked to have adjusted and have the content and that name removed, and that is truly what the action has been.”

Vargas followed up asking why, then, when Noem recorded the audio version of her book, she “didn’t have it taken out then.”

“When it was brought to my attention, I asked the publisher if they would remove the name and they did,” Noem insisted.

“But you didn’t answer my question,” Vargas said. “You posted pictures and videos of yourself recording the audiobook. When you recorded your own audiobook, you didn’t notice this passage?”

Noem said she would not “discuss my meetings with world leaders” and asked Vargas “if she wanted to talk about something else today.”

“No, we’re just trying to get a straight answer from you,” Vargas said.

“You did,” Noem shot back. “And I took responsibility for it. The buck stops with me. This anecdote I should not have put in the book, and I asked to have it taken out and it is.”

The publisher of Noem’s book said it will remove the anecdote about Kim after it received significant scrutiny as the governor remains in the running to be former President Trump’s vice presidential running mate this fall.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar, the same parent company as The Hill.