Kristi Noem in Speeches at CPAC (2020s)
On Education:
Signed 1776 Pledge; country does not have racism in its DNA
I was the very first candidate in this entire country to sign on to the 1776 Pledge, recognizing that we needed to teach our kids true honest history. That the 1619 Project, critical race theory, is hate, division, and it's not American. It's offensive.
We do not have racism in our DNA in this country. We love each other, and everybody deserves to be treated equally. Everyone who's running for office needs to embrace our honest history of America and America that was formed for freedom.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
Restart Keystone XL pipeline; open drilling on Federal land
A strong American president who put their citizens first would take a few actions right away:- They'd restart and expedite the Keystone XL Pipeline immediately.
- They'd reopen federal lands to drilling and oil and natural gas
exploration and revoke the bans on oil and gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf.
- They'd sign an executive order to cut regulations on domestic energy production and its transport to American and European markets.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
On Health Care:
COVID didn't crash the economy; government crushed it
Lots of governors shut down their states. What followed was record unemployment, business is closed, most schools were shuttered and committees suffered. The U.S. economy came to an immediate halt. Let me be clear -- COVID did not crash the economy.
Government crushed the economy. South Dakota is the only state in America that never ordered a single business or church to close. We never instituted a shelter-in-place order. We never mandated people wear masks.
Source: Remarks by Gov. Noem at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 27, 2021
On Health Care:
COVID: We didn't mandate; we trusted our people
We've got Republican governors across this country pretending they didn't shut down their states, that they didn't close their beaches, that they didn't mandate masks, that they didn't get issue shelter-in-places. Now, I'm not picking fights with
Republican governors. All I'm saying is that we need leaders with grit, that their first instinct is to make the right decision. South Dakota did not do any of those. We didn't mandate. We trusted our people. Personal responsibility was the best answer.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Health Care:
No unconstitutional COVID lockdowns; no mask mandates
In 2020, when most states were shutting down their economies and enforcing unconstitutional lockdowns, we did something different in South Dakota. Our state motto is "Under God, the People Rule." I followed it.As Governor, I believed the best way to
fight a danger to our country was through an informed and free American people who made decisions for themselves. I refused to use unconstitutional powers. We never issued mask mandates. We didn't mandate vaccines.
We never kept anybody from going to church. We kept kids in the classroom. I did not arrest, ticket, or fine a single individual for exercising their basic rights. South Dakota was the ONLY state that never even defined what an "essential business" was.
Looking around at the world today, we see fundamental freedoms evaporating because of the COVID lockdowns, but not in South Dakota. We drew a clear line. And the line between tyranny and freedom is getting more clear every day across our country.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
On Immigration:
First governor to send National Guard to southern border
The second most dangerous thing that's happening is down at our southern border. A nation without borders is a nation without laws and is not a nation at all. I was the very first governor that when Texas and Arizona asked for help, that sent my
National Guard troops down there to help. National Guard are the best and our country deserves the best. They do missions like this all the time. They are ready, and they know how to complete that mission and then come home doing an excellent job.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Principles & Values:
We're exceptional; no American should apologize for that
Our founders had their thoughts, certainly, but to use their thoughts and condemn their ideals is both unjust and self-deceiving. How many of us can live up to our own ideals? If not for the words, beliefs, and sacrifices of
those few, the world would not have a ringing example of true freedom. Freedom is better than tyranny. We are unique, are exceptional, and no American should ever apologize for that.
Source: Remarks by Gov. Noem at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 27, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Better off than 95% of the world because you're in America
I need you to wake up happy. You woke up this morning in the United States of America. You are better off than 95% of the people in this world just because you woke up in this country.
Be optimistic. Don't watch the news. It sucks. It really does. It's horrible. Be happy. People will be drawn to you by your optimism because we, as conservatives, are the only ones who really know what hope is.
Source: Speech transcript from 2021 CPAC Conference
Jul 11, 2021
On Principles & Values:
America is the greatest country in human history
What do we want to save and keep for our kids and grandkids? We are saving and keeping the greatest country in human history. Our Founders built something the world had never seen before. They took the best of Western Civilization from Jerusalem to
Athens to Rome to London. They brought together Faith, Reason, Law, and Representative Government. And in Philadelphia in 1787 they put all of that together to craft the Constitution of the United States of America.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
Page last updated: Jul 15, 2024