Twitter users popped their popcorn and sharpened their snark after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s chief spokesman inexplicably “pivoted to an unprompted diatribe” against Gov. Ron DeSantis for his abortion stance while issuing a statement to National Review staff writer Nate Hochman on the “transgender movement” in “red America.”
Hochman was working on a story exposing “a powerful, well-funded coalition” that is “working to bring the transgender movement to red America,” including in “deep-red South Dakota,” when he reached out to Noem’s chief of communications, Ian Fury, for a comment.
Fury “rejected ‘any implication that Governor Noem is overly cozy with’ the lobbying groups in question,” Hochman tweeted. “But in a follow-up email, he pivoted to an unprompted diatribe about the contrast between Noem’s and DeSantis’s records on the issue of abortion—and speculating as to whether [the National Review] was ‘no longer pro-life…because that’s the message you send by carrying water for Gov. DeSantis.'”
https://twitter.com/njhochman/status/1611077082301272067?s=20&t=kDU667rgWVrdMiXkbpNDJQ
“Governor Noem was the only Governor in America on national television defending the Dobbs decision,” Fury pointed out. “Where was Governor DeSantis? Hiding behind a 15-week ban. Does he believe that 14-week-old babies don’t have a right to live?”
Fury quickly fell under fire for the unprovoked attack, with American Commitment president Phil Kerpen stating that “15 weeks is politically sustainable” and calling Fury’s fury “nonsense.”
“Absolute clown car performance by @IanTFury,” wrote Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer. “Why is @govkristinoem’s team so wildly insecure?”
“This is so embarrassing for Noem,” wrote another Twitter user. “What a fall from stardom.”
15 weeks is politically sustainable. This is a nonsense attack. https://t.co/fOAO5H8jJb
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 5, 2023
Absolute clown car performance by @IanTFury.
Why is @govkristinoem's team so wildly insecure? https://t.co/MtPsTGlTMK
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) January 5, 2023
This is so embarrassing for Noem. What a fall from stardom. https://t.co/FiIAKxkWSu
— Hampton Prescott 🇺🇸 (@hampprescott) January 5, 2023
But the drama was not yet done.
Fury hit back at Hochman with a lengthy thread of his own, in which the spokesman dug the hole deeper for himself and Gov. Noem.
Hochman “long ago outed himself as someone with an unhealthy bias against @KristiNoem,” Fury fumed. “When his narrative is proven false, he doesn’t let facts get in the way of his efforts to take her down.”
He then presented a list of “the most egregious errors” in Hochman’s “most recent reporting,” before claiming the National Review journalist is “a shill for Gov. DeSantis.”
“He attacks Gov. Noem using the once-proud masthead of National Review because he sees her as a threat,” Fury charged.
.@njhochman long ago outed himself as someone with an unhealthy bias against @KristiNoem.
When his narrative is proven false, he doesn’t let facts get in the way of his efforts to take her down.
Here are a few of the most egregious errors in his most recent reporting 🧵(1/
— Ian Fury (@IanTFury) January 5, 2023
My comments to Nate regarding his motivations have gotten some attention.
I’ll be more blunt here. Nate is a shill for Gov. DeSantis. He attacks Gov. Noem using the once-proud masthead of National Review because he sees her as a threat.
Here are my comments to Nate (11/ pic.twitter.com/CO2R3cQKBB
— Ian Fury (@IanTFury) January 5, 2023
Hochman dismissed the allegation with a tweet that oozed sarcasm.
“Respectfully,” he replied, “I don’t think anyone sees Kristi Noem as a serious threat to DeSantis anymore.”
https://twitter.com/njhochman/status/1611150426644045824?s=20&t=GmhfbQm9vQGQwVdgwMoRQw
“Pretty much every single claim in Ian’s thread is false,” Hochman wrote, “but the weirdest one of all is his doubling-down on the idea that my criticisms of Noem are equivalent to ‘shilling’ for DeSantis—a politician that I never mentioned in either the piece itself or my correspondence with Ian.”
“The basis of the claim, as best as I can understand it, is that I’ve written nice things about DeSantis before,” the journalist continued. “The problem is, I’ve written nice things about a lot of different politicians that I generally like. I’m not sure how one gets from point A to point B here.”
https://twitter.com/njhochman/status/1611154518821203969?s=20&t=GmhfbQm9vQGQwVdgwMoRQw
Both Noem and DeSantis are considered to be potential challengers to former President Donald Trump in 2024’s race for the White House, and at least one user hopes Fury is given his walking papers and the debate between candidates remains “civil.”
“I would hope this trouble maker turd is fired,” the user said of Fury. “His comments, out of nowhere, are unnecessary and unwarranted.”
“If Noem runs for president I would hope it will be civil and just a contrast on views and policies without the mudslinging and name calling,” the user continued. “I won’t vote for that.”
I would hope this trouble maker turd is fired. His comments, out of nowhere, are unnecessary and unwarranted. If Noem runs for president I would hope it will be civil and just a contrast on views and policies without the mudslinging and name calling, I won’t vote for that.
— NOYB (@hardtobenice) January 6, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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