Republican Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who was once considered as the nominee for vice president on Donald Trump‘s 2024 GOP ticket, revealed this week that the MAGA leader is not her favorite president.
Noem declared on X: “My favorite president, Teddy Roosevelt, is a fantastic example of how to handle tough times. He faced tremendous obstacles as a child and as an adult; the way he responded to them made all the difference.”
My favorite president, Teddy Roosevelt, is a fantastic example of how to handle tough times. He faced tremendous obstacles as a child and as an adult; the way he responded to them made all the difference.
We all want our kids to grow up to become strong, capable adults. South… pic.twitter.com/PLYurJ1WbP
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 9, 2024
Note: The “tremendous obstacles” Roosevelt faced include suffering from debilitating asthma attacks as a child, and the deaths of his first wife and mother on the same day — two days after his first child, daughter Alice, was born.
Roosevelt — who is, of course, immortalized on Mount Rushmore and who tried his hand at being a cattle rancher in North Dakota — was later elected State Assemblyman, New York City Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, Vice President, and of course, President.
Several people on X are questioning why Noem favors the “progressive” president.
Roosevelt, a former Republican who founded the independent Progressive Party (AKA The Bull Moose Party) because he disagreed with President William Taft’s brand of conservatism, ran against Taft in the 1912 Republican presidential election. The Republican party split is said to have allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the presidential election.