衣阿华州得梅因——距离2024年第一次总统初选还有18个多月，大多数潜在的共和党候选人刚刚对政治格局有所了解，在提前投票的州踮着脚，试图在关键地方交朋友。然后是克里斯蒂·诺姆。
这位南达科他州州长开始摇摆不定，因为她试图在早期可能成为共和党白宫竞争对手的人群中占据一席之地。她的斗志昂扬的风格，对于那些追随她的人来说并不意外，这证明了提名竞争将会多么激烈唐纳德·特朗普保持观望。
诺姆周五唱着战歌冲进爱荷华州，并对她的共和党同僚发表了尖刻的评论。在得梅因的一次保守派集会上，她告诉人群，在乔·拜登总统的领导下，她“真的讨厌这个美国”，然后带领他们演唱了《共和国战歌》
但是诺姆不仅仅瞄准政治敌人。她还对自己党内的人发表了尖锐的评论，指责共和党州长同事在大流行期间保持他们的州开放，从而“改写了历史”。
“假装他们没有采取他们无权采取的行动不是站在真理的立场上，”她周五告诉记者。
很容易理解为什么这位49岁的州长，在她的家乡被称为焦土运动者，排挤任何试图声称对这种流行病采取更不干涉的方法的人。她没有像迈克·彭斯、妮基·黑利或迈克·蓬佩奥那样与特朗普共事的经验——这些人最近几天都去过爱荷华州的总统试验场。其他潜在的竞争对手，如佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯和得克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特，在管理在国家政治中占据突出地位的州方面具有优势。
这场大流行是诺姆政治崛起的火箭燃料。虽然她一直在为建立国家形象奠定基础，并寻找方法使南达科他州成为保守派政策的试验场，但她很早就开始谴责冠状病毒的限制。
自那以后，全国范围内的保守派一直在努力试图阻止这种流行病的蔓延，并将其变成一个受欢迎的出气筒。在家庭领袖峰会上，诺姆与彭斯、蓬佩奥和爱荷华州州长金·雷诺兹一起发言，发言者警告说，政府的限制正在侵蚀个人自由。德桑蒂斯甚至开始销售“不要福奇我的佛罗里达”商品，为他的州长连任竞选筹集资金，目标是另一个最受欢迎的目标，美国顶级传染病专家安东尼·福奇博士。
诺姆周日在得克萨斯州的另一次保守派会议上的演讲中没有提到德桑蒂斯的名字，但当她指责其他共和党州长“假装”他们没有关闭海滩时，他似乎被挑了出来。
“我想说的是，我们需要有勇气的领导者。他们的第一本能是做出正确的决定，”诺姆在保守党政治行动会议上告诉观众。
但是，随着去年春天一波早期病毒病例袭击她的州，诺姆最初表现出愿意介入并使用她的办公室的力量。她宣布进入紧急状态，并要求学校关闭，敦促一家肉类加工厂在工人中爆发疫情后暂时关闭，甚至在两个受灾严重的县为65岁以上或易受病毒感染的人发布了居家令。
虽然诺姆从未下令关闭企业，但许多人还是这么做了。城市领导人对诺姆的不作为感到沮丧，发布了他们自己的命令，迫使许多人在春天关闭几周。
然而，随着对病毒的反应变得越来越政治化，诺姆走到了州长们抱怨政府命令的前沿。到2020年6月，她的信息发生了转变:“答案是更多的自由，而不是更多的政府。”
着眼于大流行对经济和精神健康的连锁反应，她经常吹嘘自己所在的州是全国失业率最低的州之一，经济也在增长。
但即使去年病毒病例和死亡人数激增，她也拒绝敦促人们在公共场合戴口罩。相反，该州在邀请游客参观的广告活动上花费的联邦冠状病毒基金比在公共卫生广告上花费的要多。
随着她在福克斯新闻上露面的增加，全国各地的保守派开始建议她竞选总统。当被公开问及她入主白宫的雄心时，诺姆表示反对，并表示她专注于明年的州长竞选。但是最近的行动——从注册一个联邦政治行动委员会到在全国巡回演讲——表明她已经把目光投向了南达科他州以外的地方。
目前还不清楚她在病毒方面的记录将如何超越共和党基础。南达科他州记录了全国第十高的新冠肺炎死亡率。尽管一些采取更积极措施来缓解大流行的州也出现了类似的结果，但南达科他州的死亡率是中西部地区最高的。但这并没有阻止诺姆吹嘘这件事。
“当我竞选州长时，我把它作为全国的榜样，”她周五告诉人群。“我不知道这将在大流行中发生。”
South Dakota's Noem taking swings at potential 2024 rivals
DES MOINES, Iowa -- More than 18 months before the first presidential primary of 2024, most potential Republican candidates are just getting a sense of the political landscape, tiptoeing through early-voting states and trying to make friends in key places. Then there's Kristi Noem.
The South Dakota governor has come out swinging as she tries to carve a niche among an early crowd of possible GOP rivals for the White House. Her combative style, no surprise to those who follow her, is evidence of how competitive the nomination race will be ifDonald Trumpstays on the sidelines.
Noem charged into Iowa on Friday singing a battle hymn and armed with barbed comments for her fellow GOP governors. At a conservative gathering in Des Moines, she told the crowd she "really hates this America” under President Joe Biden's leadership, then led them in singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
But Noem didn't just take aim at political foes. She also unleashed sharp-edged comments on those within her own party, accusing fellow GOP governors of “rewriting history” by claiming they kept their states open during the pandemic.
“To pretend that they didn’t take actions that they had no authority to take isn’t standing on truth,” she told reporters Friday.
It's easy to see why the 49-year-old governor, who is known as a scorched-earth campaigner in her home state, is elbowing out anyone trying to claim a more hands-off approach to the pandemic. She doesn’t have the experience of working alongside Trump, like Mike Pence, Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo — all of whom have visited the presidential-proving ground of Iowa in recent days. Other potential rivals like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have the advantage of governing states that figure prominently in national politics.
The pandemic was rocket fuel for Noem's political rise. While she had been laying the groundwork to build a national profile and looking for ways to make South Dakota a testing ground for conservative policies, she jumped on decrying coronavirus restrictions early.
Conservatives nationwide have since made efforts to try to halt the pandemic's spread into a favorite punching bag. At the Family Leadership Summit, where Noem spoke alongside Pence, Pompeo and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, speakers warned that government restrictions were eroding personal liberties. DeSantis has even begun selling “Don't Fauci My Florida” merchandise to raise money for his gubernatorial reelection campaign, taking aim at another favorite target, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Noem didn't mention DeSantis by name during a Sunday speech at another conservative conference in Texas, but seemed to single him out when she accused other GOP governors of “pretending” they didn't shut down their beaches.
"All I’m saying is that we need leaders with grit. That their first instinct is to make the right decision,” Noem told the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
But as an early wave of virus cases hit her state in the spring of last year, Noem initially showed a willingness to step in and use the force of her office. She declared an emergency and told schools to close, urged a meatpacking plant to temporarily shutter after an outbreak among workers, and even issued a stay-at-home order in two hard-hit counties for people over 65 or vulnerable to the virus.
While Noem never ordered businesses to close, many did so anyway. And city leaders, frustrated with Noem's inaction, issued their own orders that forced many to shutter for weeks in the spring.
As the response to the virus became increasingly politicized, however, Noem moved to the forefront of governors railing against government orders. By June of 2020, her message had shifted: “More freedom, not more government is the answer."
With an eye on the economic and mental health ripple effects of the pandemic, she frequently touted the fact that her state has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and a growing economy.
But even as virus cases and deaths surged last year, she refused to urge people to wear masks in public. Instead, the state spent more in federal coronavirus funds on an ad campaign inviting tourists to visit than it did on public health advertising.
As her appearances on Fox News increased, conservatives across the country began suggesting she run for president. Noem has demurred when asked publicly about her White House ambitions and says she is focused on next year’s gubernatorial campaign. But recent actions — from registering a federal political action committee to hitting the nationwide speaking circuit — show she has her sights set beyond South Dakota.
It's not clear how her record on the virus would play beyond the Republican base. South Dakota recorded the nation's 10th highest COVID-19 death rate. Although some states with far more aggressive approaches to mitigating the pandemic saw similar outcomes, South Dakota had the worst mortality rate in the Midwest. But that hasn't stopped Noem from bragging about it.
“When I ran for governor I ran on it being an example to the nation,” she told the crowd Friday. “I had no idea that that was going to happen through a pandemic.”
