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By Gabe Whisnant
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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said on Sunday morning while appearing on CNN's State of the Union that Donald Trump should select a woman as his vice-presidential pick.
When host Dana Bash pointed out that six men and one woman is on a reported list of candidates that Trump is vetting for vice president in the 2024 election, Bash then asked Noem if "a woman should be on the [Republican] ticket" given the importance of suburban women voters in this year's election.
"All the polls tell him in these swing states that a woman on the ticket helps him win. The polls just say that. One in four Republican women haven't made up their minds because they want to have a woman talking to them about the issues they care about," said Noem, who campaigned with Trump this weekend in Wisconsin.
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The governor added: "But, yes, the women vote is extremely important. And I have spent the majority of my time here in Wisconsin talking to women and talking to those people that are independent and, on the fringe, and they're leaning towards Donald Trump. But they also want to know that their perspective is going to be at the table when decisions are made."
CNN is reporting the seven VP hopefuls that Trump is vetting are:
Tim Scott, the junior senator from South Carolina, Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, J.D. Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, Marco Rubio, the senior senator from Florida, Ben Carson, Trump's former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Florida Representative Byron Donalds and New York Representative Elise Stefanik, the lone woman on the reported list.
Newsweek emailed the Trump campaign Sunday morning for comment. This article will be updated with any provided statements.
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Noem's own vice presidential prospects began to sharply decline following the publication of extracts from her book, in which she revealed how she shot her 14-month old puppy, "Cricket" because it was aggressive and "untrainable."
Previously speaking to Newsweek, Christopher Phelps, a professor of modern American history at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, suggested reasons why high-profile female Republicans may not be selected for the role.
"The GOP women's candidate list has been shrinking. The most likely was Kristi Noem, but her memoir's revelations about killing her own dog made her a national joke and took her out of the running," he said.
Phelps added: "The most Trumpian Congresswomen, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, have had recent erratic behavior that means they would be liabilities. Nikki Haley, the most competent Republican option, ran a fierce primary campaign that Trump will not have forgotten, though she still may have a shot at Secretary of State. That leaves only Elise Stefanik, a Representative from New York state, who may not have the name recognition Trump would crave in a running mate."
Bash also asked Noem on Sunday about topics related to reproductive rights. On Wednesday, The Right to Contraception Act was stopped in its tracks after failing to achieve the 60 votes required for a full Senate vote, with all opposition to the legislation coming from Republicans.
Noem was asked by Bash if Republicans should support access to birth control.
The governor replied: "Yes, I do. I think that bill was a joke. That bill was far-reaching in everything that was included in it. And it wasn't just a single-issue bill, which, in my book, I talk about the fact that single-issue bills actually would fix a lot of what's broken in this country. But, absolutely, contraception is something that should be available to women."
On the campaign trail, Trump has labeled himself the "most pro-life president in American history" and spoke about appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022. The bombshell decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization led to most Republican-controlled states putting new abortion restrictions in effect, including 14 that ban it at every stage of pregnancy.
However, Trump is also said to be worried that taking positions viewed as too extreme could cost him and the GOP at the ballot box—and that ultimately, winning is most important.
"Always go by your heart, but we must win. We have to win," he said in an April announcement where he said the fate of abortion procedures should be left to individual states.
Noem told Bash on Sunday that Trump will prioritize a vice-presidential pick that can "govern on day one, that has been loyal to him, that has experience and can run businesses, knows how to be a CEO, but also supports him and his policies."
Noem said that, despite reportedly falling out of Trump's VP candidate pool, she will continue to campaign for Trump and help his outreach with potential women voters.
"I love my job in South Dakota. I care about the fact that I want him to win, and he knows that I will do that," she said.
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