South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has amassed a portfolio of viral videos.
During the pandemic, Noem went viral for playing with her Christmas present, a flamethrower. Later, she played a plumber in a television ad. The telegenic governor was even mentioned by former President Donald Trump, a reality T.V. star, as a contender for vice president.
Now, Noem has gotten in trouble for a four-minute video tweeted Monday.
A Democratic lawmaker in South Dakota is calling for an investigation into Noem’s promotional video for a dentist in Texas. In the video, Noem praises the dentist for giving her “a smile I can be proud of and confident in.”
State Sen. Reynold Nesiba initially found the video to be simply odd. Then, he reflected further. Nesiba wondered whether Noem used a state airplane or public funds for the Texas trip, whether she even paid for the procedure, or whether she received a discount because of the promotional video.
He asked the Republican co-chairs of the Legislature’s Government Operations & Audit Committee to put the matter on the panel’s next meeting agenda in July for discussion and questions.
“I just thought it was a very strange video about how much she enjoyed having her teeth done at that particular place,” Nesiba, who serves on the audit committee, told the Associated Press.
In the video, Noem identifies herself as the governor of South Dakota, and she includes clips of her speaking at a Republican Party event with Trump signs in the background.
Take a look —
I love my new family at Smile Texas! The video says it all, and I am so grateful for their help fixing my smile for me. 😊🙌🏼😊 pic.twitter.com/z2kTmiY8td
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 12, 2024
The dentist’s office was asked about any plans to use the video for promotion. “No, she posted that,” a representative told the Associated Press.
South Dakota law bans gifts of over $100 from lobbyists to public officials and their immediate family. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable up to a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. The state attorney general’s office declined to answer questions about whether the gift ban applies to people who are not registered lobbyists.
Noem has faced ethics questions before. In 2019, she was investigated for using a state plane to attend six events hosted by political organizations outside of South Dakota. Her office defended the trips as part of her work as the state’s “ambassador” to bolster the economy.
She also faced criticism for taking family members to join her on several trips. Her office points to a similar precedent set by former governors.
In 2022, South Dakota’s ethics board dismissed a complaint about Noem’s flights. The ethics board took issue with the law’s vague definition of a “state business.”
However, the board also suggested that Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” by intervening in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license in 2020.
Noem called a meeting with her daughter, along with the labor secretary and the then-director of the appraiser certification program. At the meeting, she discussed a plan to give her daughter, Kassidy Peters, another chance to meet federal standards in her appraiser work.
The governor maintains that she followed the law and that her daughter received no special treatment.
Despite these controversies, Noem won 62% of the vote during her 2022 campaign for re-election.
Take a look at Noem’s old videos —
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.