South Dakota governor Kristi Noem hits out at podcaster Matt Walsh for ‘horrible misogyny’

‘You put 50 pounds on her and another 20 years, I don’t think she gets any of the hype,’ said Daily Wire host of Trump loyalist

The governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, has slammed conservative podcast host Matt Walsh for “horrible misogyny”.

“Instead of engaging in a debate about the proper role of government and how it isn’t conservative to tell people how to do business, @MattWalshBlog stooped to horrible misogyny.”

“Eyes up here, Matt,” tweeted Ms Noem following comments on the Daily Wire host show on Wednesday, in which he said: “Kristi Noem is a very attractive woman, so she’s got that going for her.

“As far as I can tell, that’s the only reason why she was ever looked at as some sort of 2024 potential frontrunner. The hype and everything that she’s gotten from conservative media is entirely based on the fact that she’s an extremely attractive woman, which she is.”

He added: “But you know, you put 50 pounds on her and another 20 years, I don’t think she gets any of the hype. Because outside of that, she’s just a, just your standard corporatist establishment Republican who’s not interested in doing anything.”

Mr Walsh has disagreed on Gov Noem’s stance on business vaccine mandates and her not banning businesses from introducing Covid-19 vaccine mandates, if they choose to do so.

One of the state’s largest employers, Sanford Health, has announced that all employees should get vaccinated by 1 November.

“This is the right thing to do for our patients and residents, people and communities,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health, in a statement. “As more contagious Covid-19 variants continue to spread and threaten our communities, we must do everything we can to protect each other and our loved ones.”

Dakota House of Representatives speaker Spencer Gosch wants to pass a bill to make Covid-19 vaccination status “strictly confidential medical information”. Gov Noem has resisted taking action on such a bill.

A prominent Trump loyalist, Gov Noem has been talked up as a potential Republican presidential candidate in the future.