Potential Trump VP Pick Dodges Question on Certifying Joe Biden Win

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks before former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. Noem of South Dakota, a potential Donald Trump vice president pick, dodged CNN host Dana Bash’s question on certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem, a potential Donald Trump vice president pick, dodged CNN host Dana Bash’s question on Sunday over whether she would have certified President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

Trump became the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee in March following a series of primary wins, sparking renewed speculation about who his vice-presidential pick could be. The business mogul turned politician had a public fall out with Mike Pence, who served as vice president during Trump’s first term in the White House, over his refusal to back alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. Pence said in March that he “cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.”

Meanwhile, Noem, a close allly to Trump, is widely speculated to be a potential vice president pick for Trump. The former president previously pointed towards the Republican governor as a possible choice in an interview with Fox News on February 20. He said Noem and six others were being considered as his potential running mate.

During Sunday’s interview on CNN’s State of the Union, Bash discussed Noem’s position as a contender for vice president and asked whether or not she would have certified the 2020 election.

Pointing out that some of Trump’s potential vice president picks have said that they would not have certified the results as Pence did, Bash asked: “would you have?”

“I think you can go back and keep talking about January 6, but the fact of the matter is that was the day we hope we never see again here in this country. We did not do justice by our country by showing and fighting over that day, we should focus on our freedoms and continue to uphold our constitution. So talking in hypotheticals is not something I do,” Noem said.

However, Bash pressed Noem further by pointing towards Pence as she asked, “So when Mike Pence said that he talked to lawyers and he felt that he had absolutely no ability to reject the election on January 6th, do you think he was wrong when he did that?”

While Noem did not say whether or not she would certify the 2020 election she responded by stating that Pence had “failed Donald Trump”.

“You know, I wasn’t in Mike Pence’s shoes. And the information that he had at that time, I don’t know how he based his decisions. I think he’s a nice man. I think that he’s failed Donald Trump since that day because he certainly does not recognize that we need someone in the White House who needs him out on the trail advocating for him instead of constantly criticizing and going back and ripping him apart,” Noem added.

Newsweek has reached out to Noem’s office and Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.

This comes after an interview with Newsmax in March, in which Trump suggested he had ruled out “some people” as potential running mates because they hadn’t “behaved properly.” He also said he has some candidates in mind “that you may know very well.”

The presumptive Republican nominee added: “We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party, and they’ll do a terrific job, I think, but certainly I have people that I wouldn’t want as a vice president.”

Trump continues to face his D.C. election interference case related to the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

In August, the former president was indicted on four counts, accused of attempting to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to Biden in the run-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

Related Articles

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial