Trump Scores South Dakota Governor’s 2024 Endorsement at Rally

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts at a South Dakota Republican party rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, US September 8, 2023. (Reuters)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts at a South Dakota Republican party rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, US September 8, 2023. (Reuters)
TT

Trump Scores South Dakota Governor’s 2024 Endorsement at Rally

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts at a South Dakota Republican party rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, US September 8, 2023. (Reuters)
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts at a South Dakota Republican party rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, US September 8, 2023. (Reuters)

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem endorsed Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Friday, potentially boosting the former president's lead in the Republican Party's 2024 presidential primary race.

A rising star in the party, Noem has long been mentioned as a possible running mate for Trump should he win the nomination. Her endorsement will likely add fuel to that speculation.

Noem announced her "full and complete endorsement" of Trump at an evening rally in Rapid City, South Dakota, attended by thousands of the former president's supporters.

"He is the leader, the fighter that our country needs," said Noem, who used a joke to nod at speculation that she could be his running mate but did not directly address the issue. "I will do everything I can to help him win and save this country."

With the first nominating contest in Iowa still months away, only a handful of Republican governors have officially endorsed candidates in the crowded primary.

Republican strategist Matt Dole said Noem's move to endorse at this early stage suggests she is increasingly confident that Trump, who is far ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other rivals in national polls, will win the primary.

"It is a sign that he is solidifying the base behind his candidacy," said Dole, who has advised gubernatorial and congressional candidates. "Governor Noem has a backing in the Republican Party who like her style and have followed her career. I think she brings folks to the table with her."

Noem, 51, raised her national profile during the COVID-19 pandemic when she pushed back on restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. She has been a staunch Trump supporter, winning her a measure of popularity among his base of voters.

Trump called Noem one of the most successful governors, citing her record resisting pandemic lockdowns and strong economic growth in her state.

"I get endorsements, some don’t mean anything. Hers means a lot," Trump said.

Trump spent most of his nearly two-hour speech railing against the policies of President Joe Biden, a Democrat who defeated him in the 2020 election. The two appear to be on track for a rematch in 2024, with Republican primary voters rallying to Trump's side even as he faces four criminal indictments.

He reiterated plans to dismantle tax incentives for electric vehicles, one of Biden's signature policies, and vowed to implement a mass deportation of immigrants and fire scores of government workers in an effort to "obliterate the Deep State."

Trump painted the economic outlook in hyperbolic terms, underscoring his attempt to capitalize on polls showing that most voters don't approve of Biden's handling of the economy, despite easing inflation and low unemployment.

"The fact is we are probably heading into a Great Depression," Trump said. "The only question is whether or not it will be during the remaining months of the Biden administration. If it's going to happen, let it happen then."

Trump also called on Republicans in Congress to try to use an upcoming government funding deadline of Sept. 30 as leverage to ban the Biden administration from using taxpayer funds for resettling immigrants within the United States.



France, Israel at Loggerheads after French Officials Briefly Arrested In Jerusalem

Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
TT

France, Israel at Loggerheads after French Officials Briefly Arrested In Jerusalem

Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)

France accused Israel on Thursday of harming bilateral ties after Israeli security forces entered a holy site under French administration in Jerusalem and briefly detained two French officials with diplomatic status.
The incident occurred as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives. The site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem, is under Paris' responsibility and deemed part of France, said Reuters.
French diplomatic sources said Israeli security had been told not to enter before Barrot's visit.
However, they did so and as a consequence Barrot refused to enter the compound, called Eleona in French, while they were present. Two French security officials were then briefly arrested, the sources said, adding that the Israelis were aware the two were from the consulate and had diplomatic status.
Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement that an argument arose between the Israeli security forces and two French security guards. They were released immediately after they identified themselves as diplomats, it said.
The dispute casts a shadow over diplomatic relations that are already strained over Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
"This violation of the integrity of a site under French responsibility risks undermining the ties I had come to nurture with Israel at a time when we all need to move forward the region on the path to peace", a visibly angry Barrot told reporters outside the building.
Israel's foreign ministry said that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been "clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French Embassy in Israel."
A French diplomatic source said the Israeli authorities were disseminating "false allegations" and that a line had not yet been drawn under the incident.
The Israeli ambassador to Paris will be summoned in the coming days, the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply to Israel of offensive weapons used in Gaza. The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons' firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel's conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and that its military helped defend Israel amid Iranian missile attacks earlier this year.
Barrot's trip had aimed to press Israel to engage diplomatically to end the conflicts in the region now that the US presidential election is over.
It was not the first time that tensions have arisen surrounding France's historic holdings in the city.
In 2020, Macron lost his temper when visiting the Church of St. Anne, another site under French administration, demanding Israeli security personnel leave the Jerusalem basilica.
A similar incident took place in 1996 involving France's then-president Jacques Chirac, who saw his treatment by Israeli security as a "provocation".