, i don't think this is an issue in education where there needs to be any splintering. rebecca: that was beautiful. we can wrap up. thank you, everybody, for being here. thank you to our pinellas. -- our panelists. we will sign books after if anybody wants to come back. >> earlier today, family members of the late president jimmy carter gathered at washington national cathedral in d.c. for a funeral service with eulogies from president biden and others. all living former presidents were in attendance. watch the full service tonight

at eight :00 p.m. eastern on c-span and on c-span it now, our free mobile video app and online at c-span.org. >> our look at homeland security secretary nominee kristi noem continues now with a speech she gave in 2022 regarding the direction of the republican party at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california.

>> good evening, everyone. great to see you. i'm roger exact time, director of the reagan institute. we have probably been the home of the reagan foundation in washington, d.c. since 2018. we are just across lafayette park from the white house and i hope that all of you have a chance to come visit us someday. as is tradition at the library, in honor of our men and women that defend our freedom around the world, stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and it to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. you may be seated. thank you. before we get started there are

a few people in the audience i want to recognize. former congressman elton gallegly and his wife, alice. matt jacobs, a former federal prosecutor running for california's 25th congressional district seat including the reagan library. [applause] and of course, my boss, the executive director of the ronald reagan presidential foundation institute, mr. john eyelash. tonight, i want to welcome you to the reagan library for the latest element of the reagan foundation speaker series, "take time for choosing". it has been my honor to manage this important program behind-the-scenes from the beginning. given john high bush's departure as art director

soon i am excited to introduce our guest for this year's. the presidential library is one of the way we honor and remember american leaders of the past. tonight, though, because of our speakers home state i have thought of other ways we have immortalized four of our greatest presidents, mount rushmore. it is a symbol so powerful. not just in america, but around the world. ukrainian president zelenskyy invoked it during his recent address to congress. two of the presidents gazing out of the mountain side, abraham lincoln and theodore roosevelt, famously, were republicans. over time, the party, founded by lincoln, shaped by roosevelt, was revolutionized by reagan. today, we wonder who will take up the mantle and a lead at the

party forward in the next decade. as we wonder, south dakota has captured the party's attention and imagination. this time it is not because of the stonefaced leaders of the past. it is because of who sits some 200 miles away from mount rushmore in the governor's seat. that governor has garnered a national following. we are honored that she is with us here tonight. governor kristi noem, the first woman to hold that title since the state's founding in 1889 is serving her first term and right now, running for her second. if that's not enough, governor kristi noem will release her book "not my first rodeo" later this summer. i am pleased to announce she will be back at the reagan library for a conversation and

book signing. yarl better suck -- ya'll better sign up. since her days in the state legislature and congress were as a young hill staffer i saw her up close, but especially in recent years she has defined yourself as a champion of freedom at a time when many americans feel frustrated from being told what to do and what not to do. ronald reagan knew that frustration. he channeled it in his 1964 speech in which he launched his career. "a time for choosing." he said the issue of the day was to believe in our capacity for self-governance or abandon the american revolution and confess that an intellectual elite in a

far distant capital can plan our lives better for us then we can plan ourselves. governor kristi noem, i think you have been channeling that sentiment. today the republican party is confronted with fundamental questions as it tries to move on from the recent past and articulate a vision for the future. what do we stand for? what are the republican philosophies we can all agree on? if there's still room for a reagan-esque optimism in today's gop? since may we have heard from paul ryan, mike pence, mike pompeo, chris christie, nikki haley, peggy noonan, and, recently, senator tom cotton. tonight, governor noem will add her perspective. let me know -- make one last

point. despite the talk of legacies and monuments, this speaker series is not about the past. we aren't asking what would reagan do. we are trying to go backwards. president reagan was forward-looking. that is why he was successful. that is why he was transformative. we believe a successful republican party will need to embrace the future as well. to offer us a path to that future, welcome the 33rd governor of south dakota kristi noem. [applause] governor noem: thank you, roger. no pressure, right?

[laughter] thank you for the wonderful welcome. it's an honor to be at the beautiful reagan library to share my thoughts on our party and our mission today. there is no better place to have days -- these conversations. i first visited the reagan library years ago. my husband, brian, and i stopped while we were on a business trip. we were a bit lost at first. i admit, i want to do this library and i cannot even believe i was actually here. we met peggy graham, president reagan's longtime executive assistant. she shared with us personal memories of a man i had admired since i was a little girl. at 1.i found myself -- at one point i found myself alone at the memorial outside and in a quiet moment reflected on a man whose leadership is part of the world at a time of turmoil. i remember being overwhelmed at all he brought to this country in the world. all i could do was bow my head

and thank the lord for sending such a man of strength and hope to lead our country. back in the gift shop, i.e., of course, purchased one of his replica cowboy hats. i could not. that had still hangs today in my office next to a portrait of president reagan in his signature cowboy hat with that wide, hopeful smile on his face. recently i had the opportunity to visit the reagan ranch and it was a dream come true because while at this magnificent library it felt so impressive to me, when i got to the ranch, it felt familiar. in a way, it felt like coming home. growing up in the west, growing up in south dakota, my heroes have always been cowboys. my dad was a farmer and a rancher. i realize cowboy who worked harder than anyone i had ever known. he was tough as rawhide. he lived a life of integrity.

he expected his children to be excellent. we do not complain about things, dad always told us, we fix them. free time on the ranch wasn't really rare. we hunted in the mountains with our horses for our vacations. we checked cows sunday afternoon and we watched john wayne movies. the duke had a same as the line by dad loved to repeat on long days on the ranch. we are burning daylight. i remember a gate at our farm leading from the past year where i let my horses through to go to the barn. for years, i led my horses back and forth through the gate. above the gate was a sign that hung this quote "there is nothing so good for the inside of a man than the outside of a good horse." it was not until i was much older that i realized this was a favorite phrase of ronald

reagan's. if you want to know what reagan meant to my dad, a man who worked and depended on god and dirt for his livelihood, that tells you all you need to know. political awakening, like in so many families, as i address this, when we wake up, we rarely discussed politics. we never discussed it around the table. on our branch, our politics were lived. they were not talked about. we knew we had freedom and personal responsibility. we knew we needed to use both to make our corner of the world a better place to serve other people. it was not any more complicated than that. i was nine years old when president reagan was elected and what i saw a picture of him in a cowboy hat i was all in. [applause] later, i read of reagan's genuine sorrow at having to leave his ranch to return to the white house. i did not know what that felt

like until i became governor and found myself feeling the same way. when home is seven, that you hate to leave -- is heaven, you hate to leave. i am south dakota's and 33rd governor. ronald reagan was also his and in this state's 33rd governor. it is a small similarity, but it's very special to me. now, the world is a very different place today that went president reagan was in office. i recently came across a speech reagan gave during the cold war that reflected so many of today's tensions. i feel his words resonate with us all now. here they are. "to every person trapped in purity including ukraine -- tierney including ukraine, hungary, czechoslovakia, cuba, and vietnam, we send our love and support. your struggle is real. your truly -- your dream is our

dream that someday soon you too will be free." what is happening in ukraine today is tragic and i want to recognize the reagan foundation for rewarding president zelenskyy the reagan freedom award. president zelenskyy dominated his -- demonstrated his bravery to the world with his willingness to speak truth and fight for freedom for the ukrainian people. may god bless him and the people of ukraine. [applause] it may seem ironic that the very first freedom award was presented to mikhail gorbachev by president reagan himself. what i hopeful time that was. decades later, gorbachev's successor is attempting to destroy his legacy. make no mistake, vladimir putin is an evil man who, like other dictators throughout history, despises freedom and hates those

who seek it. we are watching daily assaults on democracy. they are a reminder to all of us of president reagan's famous words. "freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." we did not pass this to our children in her bloodstream. it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and children's children what it was once like in the united states when men were free. in 2020, more than any governor in america i traveled to seven states to campaign for president trump's reelection. i knew elections had consequences and i did not want to wake up and have a leader that did not put america first. his administration resort american dominance on the world stage, made us energy independent, feared our adversaries, and we were respected by our allies. he created an economy

pre-pandemic that was one of the strongest the nation has ever seen. i want that to continue. he defended our borders. a country with no borders is no country at all. [applause] that is why i have deployed the south dakota national guard to help ensure our southern border is secure. [ applause]] unfortunately, with the help of the the mainstream media, joe biden was elected president of the united states and sadly america's president today is not fighting for our freedoms. he is not protecting our freedoms. in fact, joe biden is doing the exact opposite. in our time tonight i will share first a few thoughts on our international challenges and then what we need to do here at home. i will say at the start, if we

defend democracy in ukraine, but lose our fundamental freedoms at home, we will have failed. joe biden has been wrong on every major foreign policy decision he has been a part of for almost 50 years. if the leadership in the white house reflected peace through strength by supporting our military, by standing strong against iran, north korea, and china, by not facilitating a devastating disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan that resulted in the death of 13 american patriots, we would not see an emboldened vladimir putin. even now, president biden doubles down on our weakness, crippling our domestic energy supply. he shut down the keystone xl pipeline that was supposed to come through south dakota while allowing nord stream 2 to continue to operate. biden continues to rely on russia to broker a nuclear deal with iran while militias launch rockets at america and iraq.

biden is asking a dictator in venezuela at the same time he muscles american energy producers. it is absurd. worse, it empowers america's adversaries while making us weaker. these are clear threats to the security of the united states. but there are more. china's ruthless communist leaders are not only strengthening their military, but manipulating the currency. stealing our ip, using regulations to create unfair trade practices, paying lip service is two agreements from the united nations while the u.s. is held to a different standard. they also have their sights set on our food supply. they are buying up our chemical, fertilizer, and our processing facilities that put groceries on our shelves. when another country grows our food, they control our food. when another country controls our food, they control us. that is all a part of china's plan to control the united

states. it is of the president's job to address these challenges. joe biden either cannot or will not be the leader that america needs. when it comes to domestic policy, things are not any better. we are burning daylight on inflation, surging gas prices, keeping supply chains intact and securing our food. joe biden's indecision and weakness is having irreversible consequences for we need a leader with vision and with strength and one that can correct our nations workforce, and we need it fast. the great american story has been turned to a dark chapter. pain and fear and doubt are echoing of the carter years. some say that it's worse because democrats have a much more

sinister motivation for embracing socialist practices than they did decades ago. today democrats are all about control. another question before us tonight is what is the republican party going to do about it? abigail adams wrote, the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in the contending with difficulties. great necessities callout great virtues. we confront great necessities today. lead armorer -- leading country through them will require all that is the best of us is a party and his people. a party was born during a national crisis, the civil war. under lincoln, are republican party freed that slaves and preserved the union, which means from our earliest days, the purpose of the republican party has been preserving the dignity of every americans life and helping our people together in times of turmoil. so we need to ask ourselves as

conservatives, what are we trying to conserve? what do we want to save and to keep for our kids and our grandkids? put simply, the greatest country in human history. our founders built something that the world had never seen before. they took the best of western civilization from jerusalem to athens to rome to london, and they brought together faith, reason, law, and a representative government, and in philadelphia in 1780 seven, they put all of that together to craft the constitution of the united states. they set out a bill of rights making clear certain rights could never be infringed on. the right to speak and assemble. the right to worship, and act on those beliefs in the private sphere. the right to arm ourselves and the right to a fair and equitable criminal justice system. they acknowledge that our rights come from our creator, and free

people honor their creator when they exercise those rights and govern themselves wisely. but our rights and our freedoms have come under attack in an unprecedented way the last two years. our public officials have grabbed unconstitutional power over american families, workers, and students when the global pandemic gave them an excuse to do so. the media stoked fear, national health experts when he plaited data and ignored science. dr. fauci outright lied repeatedly. he used his title and his position as a political weapon against the american people. and sadly, i watched people in this country roll over and give up their freedoms. because america told them they could not hold gatherings, they gave up their freedom of assembly. because the government told them that they couldn't go to church, they gave up their freedom of religion. because the government allowed citizens to be canceled and their opinions silenced, they

gave up their freedom of speech. now, the left wants to criminalize dissent, when someone raises legitimate questions on any number of issues from election integrity to covid-19 to climate change to critical race theory that's being taught in our schools, if you dare speak up, you get professional ruined, or worse yet, prosecuted and punished. the republican party must be the party of freedom. republicans must rollback joe biden's assault on the bill of rights. freedom of speech, assembly, religion, the freedom to bear arms, the ability of the states to retain their own prerogatives, they are all essential to our society basic fabric and prosperity. the american people are the most creative and innovative in human history. these natural gifts may flourish with their freedom. they wither without it. it matters who is in charge, and

as a party, we as republicans will have failed if we do not make it very clear what the consequences are of having democrats in charge. from state to state, compare the difference between republican and democrat leaders. and democrat states, families are devastated financially, for mandates and closures, having lost precious time in the classroom, kids have fallen behind. economies have been crippled by regulations and restrictions. law and order has been eliminated by leaders who embrace criminals and embolden them by disrespecting law enforcement and the judicial system. people in those states are losing hope. it's heartbreaking. and now i want you to look at south korea. because when i ran for governor, i told south dakotans that we would be an example to the nation, that because we were a smaller state, we could do things faster and more

efficiently. as justice brandeis said, the states are the laboratories of democracy. our state could be a pilot project for the nation, and that conservative reforms prove they create more success and opportunity for people. i had no idea that our opportunity to be an example for the nation would come because of a pandemic, and i would wager that very few here followed me during my eight years in congress. you got to know me because liberal started kicking me in the head every night for the decisions that i was making during the pandemic. from elizabeth warren to rachel maddow, night after night on the national news. they said i was reckless. that i was irresponsible and dangerous. at one point on a sunday morning show, george stephanopoulos asked new york's former governor cuomo to give me advice.

yes. yes, governor cuomo, the one who sent vulnerable seniors to their deaths in nursing homes and then covered it up. now, i made my decisions differently. i listened to the experts. i studied the science. we researched the data, but then i took it a step further. i talked to my general counsel and constitutional experts, because i wanted to fully understand what authority i had, and what authority i didn't have. because i believe that when leaders overstep their authority, especially in a time of crisis, that that is when we break this country. now, south dakota was the only state in the nation that never once closed a single business.

[applause] in fact, i never even defined what an essential business was because i don't believe governors have the authority to tell you that your business isn't essential. we never stopped people from going to church. we didn't mandate anything. i stood in front of my people and i told them that i was going to trust them. i would give them all the information that i have, but i was going to let them use personal responsibility to make the best decisions for their families. and that we would get through this unprecedented challenge together. now, south dakotans were worthy of that trust. today, and south dakota, we have the number one economy in the country. [applause] we have the least amount of business is closed from the pandemic, the least amount of

hours lost by workers during the pandemic, the least amount of wages lost by any employee during the pandemic. in the president offered elevated unemployment benefits, i was the only governor in the country that turned him down. [applause] i said thank you mr. president for the flexibility, but we don't need. our people want to work. we have taken an historic -- in historic revenues from our thriving economy, even though south dakota has no income taxes, no corporate or personal taxes, no property taxes. i knew you are all murmuring. all we have is the 4.5 sent sales tax. since i have been governor, we have paid off debt, we have funded trusts and reserves to historic levels, we've invested in dams, railroads,

infrastructure. i had a vision to bring high-speed internet access to every corner of the state during my years as governor. fully funded that project in one year. [applause] we cut taxes, would cut regulations, assign constitutional carry and i've waived all the fees for any permits as well. now, in south dakota, it won't cost you a penny to exercise your second amendment rights. in fact, my state will even pay for your federal background check. south dakota now leads the nation in educational outcomes for children, because our kids were in the classroom throughout the pandemic. democrats played on fear, and south dakota we trusted the constitution and freedom. we gave people hope. we held public events to celebrate it.

for independence day and 2020, beneath the faces that are carved in granite on mount rushmore, we showed america and the people that live here that america is good and honorable, and we revere our past leaders. that we can and should learn from our history, not tear it down. just did what republicans have said for years they believe. we did it. and it worked. our state is thriving and our people are happy. last year alone, we lost over 100,000 americans to drug overdoses. in south dakota, we focused on the drug problem in our state, and in 2020, just two states had declining overdose deaths. new hampshire and south dakota. new hampshire's rate dropped by .5 percent. south dakota's dropped by 16%. [applause] when states defunded police and

they disrespected law enforcement, i began a messaging campaign directed specifically to law enforcement officers. i said if you want to live somewhere where people will respect you, come to south dakota. in one week, more than 900 law enforcement officers raised their hands and said i want to live in south dakota. since then, thousands have made their home in our state. i also brought and signed into law the strongest bill in the nation to protect girl sports, and make no mistake, it's about fairness. it's about fairness and about giving young women an opportunity to succeed. and we also banned critical race theory in our public schools.

and we took action at our universities, too. since i took office, we have passed and i've signed into law over a dozen pro-life bills. south dakota has a aaa credit rating and a fully funded pension plan. we have a constitutional requirement to balance our state budget and in short, don't you wish you lived in south dakota? [applause] listen, these policies were all inspired by republican values and principles. these values make us strong at home. they also make us strong in a dangerous world. in congress, i served on the armed services committee and i traveled abroad. israel, jordan, the uae, saudi arabia, afghanistan, china, norway, greece, italy, egypt,

and many more, of all those trips, there is one that i will never forget, and it is my visit to south korea and the demilitarized zone. i can show picture today the south korean soldiers lined up along the countries border facing north. the north korean soldiers were just yards away, facing them with their feet firmly in north korean soil, and between those two enemies stood our troops. americans, keeping peace. the north korean soldiers try to antagonize our warriors, they were spitting on them, they were shouting at them, taking pictures, trying to break their composure. yet our men and women stood strong. they were stoic and firm. if ever there was an example of the role america plays in the world, it was right there in front of me in the flesh. peace through strength, every day, all of us. and that strength begins right here at home. i will use that strength as a

foundation on which to stand amongst other nations as the world's most powerful. in the past, as a party, we have been tested. there are many examples of republicans rising to the challenge of the day, but unfortunately, there are examples where we as a party have failed. we fight amongst ourselves, concerned about political pull -- polls, while losing our focus on the families and committees living under the crippling burden of ad policies and laws. when i first became governor of south dakota in january of 2019, i medially introduced a bill into our legislative session that would've required more civics and history in our classrooms. i felt that our children really did not understand the gift they had been given, being born in this great country. it was republicans that killed that legislation. that felt that it would be too much of a hardship to change the curriculum that had already been established. they didn't want to divert the time and energy away from other

studies that the teachers and the ministration may have been more important. some republicans voted against it just to oppose me. they had wanted someone else to be governor. they were more interested in fighting me for not rocking about with the teachers union that there weren't even focusing on our children, the next generation. two shortly's -- years later, crt has infiltrated our nation's schools and parents arising up to five for the kids. these very same legislators have now joined with me to pass legislation banning crt and they support teaching true american history in our classrooms. when it comes to putting the hard work into governing, at times the republican party has refused to. instead of educating the public, people talk and soundbites. instead of listing to debate, we each other down, or we jump on

twitter. instead of thinking about the long-term consequences of our actions, we worry about the next election. during the pandemic, i found i couldn't just make decisions for my people, i needed to explain why i was making decisions. i held a press conference one time on the constitution, what power it gave the federal government, to myself as governor, but the power it gave to them, the people. i gave a press conference on our state motto, which is under god, the people rule. i gave a press conference on the need for perspective, encouraging people to shut off the tv and go for a walk. people need leaders who are willing to spend hours researching, studying, working, and communicating on issues important to our families. when i was elected to the legislature years ago, i had a neighbor give advice i have never forgotten to this day. he said, remember, every day you

are in legislative session, our way of life is in jeopardy. his message was clear, what we do matters, but we don't do matters, what we say matters. every bill introduced in south dakota in my administration has -- during legislative session has to go through a bill analysis by staff. on this analysis, there are several questions that must be answered. what will happen if this bill becomes law? what will happen if this bill does not become law? how much will this bill cost the taxpayers if it is enacted? the answers to these questions give me information i need to decide whether i want to support the bill or sign it. the very last question on that bill analysis form says what , will be the impact of this legislation on the next generation? you see, i don't think it should only think about the consequences a week from now or

a year from now. i want to know what the long-term consequences are for the next 10, 20 years. we must know the precedent we are setting with each policy and the impact on our kids and grandkids. while our actions as leaders are far-reaching, so are the words we use. the way we talk to each other has consequences. my advice to the republican party is to get over yourself. we all have people in our lives we have stopped talking to. we have been offended by them or believe they are too far on the other end of the political spectrum from us and there is no sense in wasting words speaking to them. we need to get over ourselves and start by listening. no one feels like anyone listens to them anymore. listen carefully. ask questions.

build a relationship. when i married my husband, first there were some members of his family who were democrats. today, most are registered republicans. [laughter] this did not happen because i blew them up at the thanksgiving dinner table. it happened because we built a relationship, asked questions, talked, loved each other and found we had more in common than not. if we do not do this as a republican party, we are missing an opportunity to restore america to what its founders intended -- a nation of free men and women. if ronald reagan were leading the party today, some would say he is too conservative for our times. there also would be other republicans who would attack him

for being willing to work across the aisle to fix problems and make progress. the republican party is the answer to the challenges of today, but only if we made true -- remain true to our principles and follow through on our promises to the people. and we must convey our acid j&a -- our message in a way that brings hope. our world is desperate for optimism and republicans, what we believe works. it creates opportunity, success, and freedom for all. if we can convey that optimism, drop we will draw people to us, we will bring hope all americans. to close, i want to borrow some words from one last cowboy, teddy roosevelt. it is not in the still, of life or the repose of a specific station that great characters are formed. we have seen great character at work before in our history.

i come from the plains, the wide open places of purpose and possibility, but at the other end of our state lies the granite faces of some of the greatest. washington, jefferson, roosevelt, lincoln. they remind us to have grit, tenacity and values to preserve a more perfect union. yes, we believe in great character, but i don't think it can be found in great leaders. america is bigger than our leaders. when the founders gathered in philadelphia in 1787, they spelled out exactly where the government gets its power -- the people. james madison said in federalist 49 that the people of the only legitimate fountain of power. if america's public servants returned to that belief and do it, america will be free, prosperous. we will be safe again.

but if they don't, then we won't. what we loved about president reagan is what our country is desperate for today, leaders who believe in the goodness of america, see hope or its future and are willing to gather our resources, will and courage to make it real. america is burning daylight. it is literally up to us republicans to bring that message. it is not for us to give up, it is for us to reach deep, to get up every day and to build a country where men and women are free to think, speak, create, build and believe. if we do this, we will call forth that strength is the birthright of every american. we will meet the test in our time, here at home and beyond the shining sea.

i know we can, and i believe that we can. thank you, and may god continue to richly bless the united states of america. have a wonderful day. [applause] >> we are pulling from the seas and archives to bring your marathon of trump and i'm -- trump nominees in their own words. up next, more from kristi noem who joins c-span's after words program in 2022 to discuss her book, "not my first rodeo." >> governor kristi noem, i'm going to rip the band-aid off and get right to some of the topics you may not want to

discuss all the time and then we are going to get right into your brand-new book. have you ever thought, generally speaking, about running for president? >> people ask me about it quite a bit, so then of course you have to, but i really focus on staying in south the coda. i hope the people of my state trust me to serve them another four years, and that's really what my goal is. beyond that, i'm sure there's a lot of people that are interested in the leadership of our country. quakes have you ever given specific knowledge running for president in 2024? >> no, i haven't. people speculate, that's a nature politics, but i specifically have not. i'm not convinced that has to be me in that position. >> fair enough. i wanted to ask you into little time traveling for just a moment. we are in the midst right now in

washington, and granted a lot of people look at what happens in washington and scratch the heads, but we are in the midst right now of the special select committee in the house to examine what happened on january 6, 2021. on that day, as you watch supporters of donald trump form the capitol in an effort to halt certification president joe biden's victory, and this is a building where you work for a number of years, what were you thinking that day as you watched that unfold? >> like many people i was grieved by what i was seeing. i think what is going on with the committees now and what we sow this week was discouraging. a lot of the testimony was hearsay, not necessarily factual, and that's why think they're so me things going on in this country with inflation, energy costs, things that are impacting families across the nation that i would love to see congress focus on and continue to make sure we have an environment where people can feed their families, pursue

opportunities in the future for their careers really protect their freedoms. quakes do you view president trump as the undisputed leader of the republican party, and if he chooses to run in 2024, mount a third white house campaign, should other republican step aside? >> i spend a lot of time talking to people across the country, and right now i don't think there's anybody that can defeat president trump in a republican primary. he's got a group of individuals that are extremely loyal to him. i think his leadership was good for the country, compared to what we have today. so it will be interesting to see how that shapes up over the next several years, but if he were to run, he would certainly have my support. >> i want to talk to a little bit about the republican party generally. i noticed it in the immediate aftermath of 20/20, he delivered a speech -- you were quite critical of how republicans in

congress have operated at times and you were critical of the party's inability from your point of view at times to deliver on campaign promises. where do you think your party has fallen short? >> i think if you go back and you look at what i actually said there, yes, i said we have fallen short at times, but i also said where we need to go, what is hopeful about the republican party. i think that's really what the country is desperate for right now is some optimism. if you look at my state of south dakota, what we did was basically what conservatives believe in the last several years. we had a very limited government role, we gave people flexibility, let them use personal responsibility make the best decisions for their families and their businesses and now our economy is leading the nation. our children are doing better with educational outcomes and virtually anywhere in the country. incomes are going up faster in our state than anywhere else and people are thriving more than

they are in many of these other states. so leadership has consequences and republicans can be a party now there brings hope, brings optimism, and that really is what the people in this country need to be reminded of. this is a very special country and so much of what we see in the news is discouraging. i would preferred that we talk about what our founders gave us and the blessings that we have. >> wen yu served in congress, you entered with the brainy republican majority, but with a democrat still in the white house. i wanted to sort of get your insight, as republicans can have a very good year this year and beginning next january have majorities of some sort in the house and senate, at least ability to put bills on the floor and passively -- passively some of them through the house. what is your recommendation trigger fellow republicans in congress who may be in congress and year in terms of how you

deliver on what you believe the american people want, but how you also function in a political reality for democrats are still likely to have filibuster power in the senate to block house passed bills and were president joe biden is still going to be in the white house with the veto pen. quakes welcome the reality is that the senate doesn't even necessarily have to talk about what the house is talking about. talk about this quite a bit in my book, that just was released this week, called "not my first rodeo." it talks about the dysfunction in washington dc. when i did serving congress the first couple of years, we did have barack obama in the white house, and we learned how to figure out a way to get some things past. a lot of what we wanted to do as republicans in the house did nok and balance to the system. what i believe republicans in the house and senate need to do is cast a vision for where we

are going, not just be opposed to joe biden, even though so many of his policies are bad for our country right now, i do think we also have to be pretty clear on what we are or and be ready to take action should we have the opportunity to get congressional bills passed and get them to the president's desk. >> in your book you discuss a lot about what you are for, and also talked a lot about your experiences, which i want to discuss in a minute, but do you think republicans outside of south dakota, other than yourself, have done a good job casting a vision for what republicans will do with new majorities if they win in november? >> i think it depends on the republican. and what their message is. there are some that are talking about that they would like to do, there are many that want to get the regulations off our back and address national security concerns, make sure we are leading through peace, through strength.

those are all things a talk about. i know the house of representatives has vanessa ching -- messaging what they would do if they get the house back. and also keeping perspective. so many people have been successful in the past running for office when they talked about but the people at home care about. we saw a new governor get elected in virginia by focusing on what people cared about in the communities throughout that state. not getting diverted down national, political, divisive topics but focusing on what people cared about and the kids in the education they were getting. that really is a discipline that i think we all could learn as public servants, that even though what we think may be the conversation to be having, it's really what the people at home honest a focus on that we should be looking at. >> let's get into your book, and if you haven't written one of these things before, noalys as easy as it might appear.

i have a little experience with that myself. i just wanted to ask you off the top, what is your book about? >> most people would assume it is just a political book, that it voices all of my opinions on the political topics of the day, but it's really more a story of my life lived so far, what i've learned over the years, leadership qualities from the heartland. how i grew up on a ranch and the very big presence in my life, my dad taught me by having a strong work ethic, we don't complain about things, we ask them. also my time in the state legislature, how i may be decisions in my life. i think a lot of people first heard my name during covid, but that wasn't my first challenge i went through. i did have a life before that and served in congress. some of those experiences along the way i think will give people

a little better understanding about how i make my decisions when it comes to this public office that i hold today as well. >> the book opens with i think my favorite story of yours. bet a lot of people have not heard it, at least outside of south dakota, have not heard the story. i want to go to your words in chapter one. i thought it was fitting, given how often you talk about this in terms of how it shaped you. chapter one is titled, "the tapes." you starthe book like this. i don't know why i'm doing this, he said over the cackles of the tape recorder. i guess i will go check the cows. click. the tape stopped. that was in. i couldn't believe what i had just heard, what i had just found, what i held in my hands, and what a gift it was. suddenly i knew everything was going to be ok, we were going to get through this.

talk about this story, fill it in for us, and why it is such a poignant moment in your life. gov. noem: well, most people wonder how i got involved in government and politics to begin with. i don't coming from a lytic -- from a political family. no one had been interested in government or had run for office. it was a very strange route for me to take, growing up just wanting to graduate from college, go home and be in business on the farm and ranch with my dad. so it really was a big life changer for me when my dad was killed in an accident on our family operation, and i was 21 years old at the time. my older brother and sister were living out of state. i ended up quitting college, coming home and becoming the general manager of a large business. had a lot of people working for me, and over and over again, at the age of 22, i was wishing i could just ask my dad questions. i had been working all the time,

trying to figure out how to keep the business together. we were hit with death taxes, we didn't have any money in the bank. for months, i struggled and wondered if we would be ok, and then one day i decided i would finally clean out my dad's pickup, which is where he kind of ran everything out of. most ranchers and farmers live out of their pickup trucks, and i found these little dictation tapes, a little micro cassette recorder and these tapes. when i started to play them, it was my dad's voice, and on these tapes were answers to all the questions that i wished i'd had over the several months previous. a variety of seed corn, what soil types worked best, what cattle bread best and did well in our climate, what neighbors to trust, which ones were good friends, what to do if we ever got into financial trouble. he even talked about us kids, what he thought we would be when

we grew up. some of those tapes were almost 10 years old, he had moved them from pickup to pick up the years. i dad wasn't a talker, so it was a shock to me to find something like that. no one had any idea he was doing something like that. i was just amazed at the fact that the answer to any question i could've possibly had was on those tapes. it was like a prayer delivered and answered. at that moment i felt a peace i guess that passes all understanding. it was almost like i just knew that if god cared enough to give me the answers to all those questions then it would be fine, it would be taken care of. >> talk about the farm a little bit, how long has it been in the family? gov. noem: it's been in the family for generations. i dad grew up on the operation. i live on the ranch which my dad purchased probably when i was 12 or 13 yourself. that's about 15 miles away from where the original farm is.

it is very special lands. my grandfather bought the fi han two dollars he could scrape together. he started a mink and fox farm and started to raise money that way to buy their first quarter of land. i come from a family that recognize the value of owning something in fact, my dad set all the time, don't sell land, god isn't making anymore land. really your whole estate, what your legacy was, was tied up in the land that you could pass on to your children and your grandchildren. so it's a special place. it was always more than place to just call home. it's where our family had its roots, our foundation. >> you talk about a moment where union dad took a drive to what you refer to in the book as native land, and he said i bought it. is that the ranch? gov. noem: that's where i live,

yes. and are part of the state, it's very rare to find native ground that has never been plowed, it's the same as it would've been hundreds of years ago, and sperry special. even in south dakota, there are certain native flowers, our state flower only grows on native ground. once you turn it, it will never grow there again. i have always treasured rough prairie like that. i remember being very young and my dad showing me this special place of hundreds and hundreds of acres that was all native, and saying i wanted to live there someday. that said, well, i bought it, it's mine. me asking him if i could live there someday come in him saying , well, someday i will let you buy it from me. there was no free lunch and my dad's world. i eventually did, and my husband and i still live there today. >> fascinating. what are the different things that you farm, and who runs the farm today? gov. noem: today my brothers do.

when i went to congress, us four siblings all worked together in partnership with my mom for many , many years. but when i went to congress, i was going to be gone a lot, and obviously was spending my time in other entities, so my brothers at that time bought my sister and i out of the business operation. we still have equity in the land and other things, but they run the business and do the farming today. >> the book is "not my first rodeo, lessons from the heartland." a lot of children were grow up in a family business and either reject the family business or just not want to go into the same line of work as their parents did. this is something that you embrace, and i was trying to get a sense of how much this was a matter of circumstance for you, given your father's accident, or whether this is something you ultimately decided that you loved enough to want to do before you found your current

location. gov. noem: i would say my dad and i were a lot alike. my brother says if you want to know what my dad was like, spend a day with kristi. at times that was wonderful. my dream was farming and ranching for the rest of my life. at other times, both of us have very drawn personalities and we both kind of wanted to be in charge, too. i don't know what that would've looked like into the future, but i did not think i could ever be happy not farming and ranching. the passion is animals. i love the land, i love being outdoors. the fact that i do what i do today is very strange, it was never on my radar. my plan was always to be involved with the family business. the fact that i'm not today is a very unique circumstance. >> you spend a lot of time in the book talking about your parents. who are they, where did they come from, and how did they meet? gov. noem: my dad grew up in the

same area as my mom. my mom grew up in watertown, which was about 20 miles away. my dad was raised out in the country, farming and raising cattle. my mom was a city girl. >> what does that mean in south dakota? >> it means that the town was probably 15-20,000 people previewed probably not a city girl in terms of what a lot of the country thinks. she had showed cattle before so i guess that still doesn't make her quite the city girl that a lot of people would say, but she certainly had never run tractors and lived the kind of life that my dad had required when she married him. in fact, she says she moved out to the farm and was so lonely because it was so far away from her family, they only went into town on sundays really. she immediately was put on a tractor, she was out of her element. i think they met through high school friends, but quickly fell

in love and got married. my mom's whole life became then her running the business with my dad. he worked so hard all the time. she was the peacemaker in the family, she was the one who kept us alive. he was always coming in the house and sing that's go, let's go. she was the one shoving food in our pockets, saying eat this on the way to the field, and taking care of us kids and running parts and stuff around the country, supporting the business as well. >> do you know how far back your family goes in south dakota and where they came from? gov. noem: my grandfather on my mother side, his parents came over from norway. my dad's grandparents had been here before, they were more german, but they originally settled up north of us probably about 15 miles. at least four generations in this country, but very much tied

to the land. they worked and earned every single thing that they have today. >> you talk about your siblings and writes about them in your book. what was your relationship like growing up and what has it been like as governor, if they ever get out of line, do you threaten them with tax audits? gov. noem: no, it's funny how different we all are. my sister is the oldest but she still runs my life. when cindy tells me to do something, i do it. and i went to congress and got elected, that was such a different thing for our family. i was leading 4-h groups. i was a children's pastor at our church. my kids were little. >> we will leave this program briefly and take you live to the white house where president biden is convening a meeting on the california wildfires. live coverage on the c-span3.