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Kristi Noem chastised by French govt over bizarre claims about Emmanuel Macron in new book
In one of her book's passages, Kristi Noem claimed that she cancelled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron over his comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recently stoked several controversies around her newly-launched book 'No Looking Back', in which she has made several unverified claims, including meetings with several world leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
She even drew ridicule and backlash for admitting to killing her pet dog 'Cricket' and unnamed family goat, and for falsely claiming a meeting with North Korean leader Kim before her book hit the shelves on May 7.
In one of her book's passages, Noem claimed that she cancelled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron over his comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the passage of her book obtained by NBC News, Noem highlighted her visit to Paris and a scheduled meeting with Macron.
“While in Paris, I was slated to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron. However, the day before we were to meet he made what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press. So, I decided to cancel,” she has mentioned in No Looking Back. However, the French government has strongly rejected it.
However, a Macron official stated that there is no record of an arranged meeting between the two of them and that she was never invited for any such meeting in the first place, reported Daily Mail.
In contrast to the French government's claim, Ian Fury, the Neom's chief of communications, stated that the South Dakota Governor was invited to "sit in President Macron's box for the Armistice Day Parade at the Arc de Triomphe".
He added that she decided to cancel it because of his anti-Israel sentiments.
Noem, who was considered among top contenders for Donald Trump's vice presidential nominee, launched her book after meeting with the former President at Mar-a-Lago, which was reportedly held to discuss her VP candidature.
Critics, including animal lovers, her party colleagues and other politicians, mocked Noem after she opened up about murdering her own dog.
Here's how Noem justified her falsely claim meeting with Kim
Appearing on CBS News, Noem declined to accept she had wrongly claimed to have met the North Korean dictator, instead the Governor said that she had asked the publisher to make some modifications to the book before its distribution.
"I'm not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I'm just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn't have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted," she explained.
Trump, who has publicly hailed Noem on several occasions, acknowledged her struggles and refused to clarify if her name is on his VP list.
"I don't want to comment on anybody on the list. But she had a rough couple of days, I will say that," he said during an interview with Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin.
