South Dakota’s Noem speaks at RNC as state virus cases rise

— From the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump called on governors to “liberate” residents, reopen schools and get businesses back to normal. In return, Noem praised Trump as having “lifted people of all races and backgrounds out of poverty,” despite a global pandemic his administration was slow to address, which led to a deep economic recession. “You can look back 50 years, and you won’t find anyone that has surpassed President Trump’s success on these four issues alone,” Noem said, referring to the economy, taxes, religious freedom and gun rights. They like that.” Noem, 48, has angled for increased attention from Trump since shortly after taking office as South Dakota’s first female governor in 2019. “I had never seen a situation where people were so gripped by fear and that what we really needed was information in people’s hands and give them the opportunity to make the best decision for their family,” she said in a July interview on the podcast “The Charlie Kirk Show.” Noem has said that widespread infections were inevitable, predicting that up to 70% of people would be infected with the virus and prepping the state’s hospitals to handle 5,000 patients.