Kristi Noem appeared to have made up a fictional feud between her and Nikki Haley in her new book where, among other things, she talks about shooting her 14-month-old puppy.
And Haley’s son, who campaigned with his mom on the 2024 GOP primary trail and has been a vocal supporter of her on social media, is having none of it.
“She called once in 2020 saying she supported u and ur Covid policies. Never offered to be a mentor and never threatened u. She’s always offered support to republican women. Ur book is filled with inaccuracies so not only are you a psycho puppy killer but a pathological liar,” Nalin Haley posted to X.
After her retelling of a supposed meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was debunked, POLITICO reported on her recounting of a conversation with Haley:
“’Hi, Governor, this is Ambassador Nikki Haley, and I just wanted to introduce myself and have a conversation. I just wanted to let you know that I follow you quite a bit. I have heard quite a bit about you, and you are doing a good job there in South Dakota. I was thinking that maybe you might like a mentor, and maybe I could be someone who could do that for you. Because you’re a governor, you’ve gone through some challenging things that I did as well. I would be more than willing to be a mentor, because you’ve never been in this type of role before.’
“She went on to tell me about her life story, her résumé, and some of the challenges she faced in her legislature as governor and as ambassador to the United Nations reading daily talking points from the State Department. Once again, I recall, she offered to mentor me, as she was sure I was facing some decisions and situations I’d never seen before. …
“After what seemed to me a bit of an awkward pause, she added, ‘I … just … also want you to know one more thing … I’ve heard a lot of really good things about you. But I also want you to know that if I hear something bad … I will be sure to let you know.’
“There was a long pause.
“’Um, well, thanks for that, Ambassador.’
“‘Let me be clear,’ she added. ‘I’ve heard many good things about you. But when I do hear bad things, I will make sure that you know. I’ve enjoyed talking to you. We will visit soon. Goodbye.’ Click.”
Noem described the interaction as “a threat” from Haley.
From POLITICO: “Contacted for comment, Haley spokesperson Chaney Denton was befuddled. She said the two women did talk, but — looking back at Haley’s calendar — found that it was in 2020, not 2021.”
Denton told the site: “Nikki has long called and written notes supporting other women when they go through challenging times. … She called Governor Noem in 2020 to encourage her when she was criticized for keeping her state open during Covid. How she would twist that into a threat is just plain weird.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.