Gov. Noem bludgeons Pubs who failed to attend last week’s Trump-fest in Rapid City, showcases the GOP divide

Closely following the Donald Trump extravaganza in Rapid City last week, I was most struck by Gov. Kristi Noem’s vicious slam directed at some prominent no-shows, i.e. our state’s entire congressional delegation, all of them Republicans.  

South Dakota Searchlight reported that Noem, without naming them, made her position clear on the glaring absences of Congressman Dusty Johnson and Senators Mike Rounds and John Thune. Said Noem: “Let me be clear. There are many who choose not to be in the arena. Many who take the easy path. Who criticize. Who don’t show up for our party, our country or our constitutional rights. They don’t show up for you when it really matters. They didn’t even show up tonight to welcome a former president of the United States to South Dakota.”

Whew.

There isn’t much mystery as to just who she had in mind while delivering her serious scolding. Noem (seen above, watching Trump during his 2020 visit to Mt. Rushmore in an official White House photo taken by Tia Dufour) didn’t name names. But then, she didn’t have to. Named or not, our prominent U.S. reps are among the no-shows that she was chewing out.  

The absentees did kinda sorta have an excuse for not being present. We already know that Rounds and Thune have publicly endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott as their choice for the GOP presidential nominee next year, so their presence may have made things a bit awkward for everybody. Johnson has said that he won’t be making any presidential endorsements, so maybe he thought that by showing up in Rapid City it would look like he’s making a tacit endorsement.  

Certainly those contingencies mean something, but there’s a case to be made for the three of them to have shown up if only to give the event an image of Republican solidarity.

The missing trio chose not to go that route. All three of them told South Dakota Searchlight that they had scheduling conflicts, which, actually, is pretty lame. You ignore the former president visiting your rock-solidly red state because you have something more pressing on your schedule? Please. 

By their absence, they effectively said that they don’t want to be associated with Trump. Noem and the crowd on hand had reason to feel snubbed, so Noem’s angry reaction is understandable. Of our state’s top Republican leadership, only Kristi Noem has openly and passionately shown total devotion to the former president.  

The crowd was certainly with her, as there was much jeering and booing at the mention of the non-attendees.

It was the way the crowd reacted, booing fellow Republicans who chose not to attend, that was interesting, if not altogether revealing. Noem contrasting her appearance at the Trump rally with the conspicuous indifference of those who chose not to attend is the sign of a rupture in the GOP. Noem’s merciless, accusatory tone suggests to me that she and the Trump wing of the party are aware of the split and aren’t so sure about their grip on the rank-and-file. Trump supporters have seen some defections — among them Thune and Rounds — from their ranks and can use a whip-cracker like Noem to bring people into line. Our governor obliged.

Censuring Republican absentees for not showing up “when it really matters” is an intimidating indictment. By questioning their loyalty to the party, cowgirl Noem is gambling that she can lasso and herd them back into the Trump corral instead of alienating them. It’s a big risk. I don’t know that you can win people over by claiming that they’re taking the “easy path” by not showing up and that their absence reflects their lack of support “for our party, our country or our constitutional rights.”  

Noem bruised some feelings, maybe permanently, with her tirade.

Her “yer either fer me or yer agin’ me” tone is pretty heavy stuff coming from the party’s leader in South Dakota. She leaves no room for deviation. The way Noem puts it, if you’re not for Trump, you're against everything that our country stands for. Loyal Republicans who are trying to keep their options open are being rhetorically bludgeoned by the Trump-dominated messaging that came out of the Rapid City arena.

Our congressional delegation isn’t buying it, but Noem doesn’t seem to care, considering that she has effectively written them off by stigmatizing wayward Republicans for not being reflexively enthusiastic about Donald Trump.  

Is it a stretch to think that Noem’s vehement denunciations are a signal that she and other Trump supporters are worried about the strength of Trump’s grip on the party? Could be, but methinks the lady doth protest too much.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills.  He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years.  His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald.  Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam.