A large digital sign at the Rapid City, ND, rally for President Trump Friday night briefly displayed an unambiguous campaign shot saying, “Trump Noem 2024.” The rally caught national attention because it was the official endorsement of Trump by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
From what I’ve been able to piece together from coverage, the huge sign only appeared for a few seconds, but those seconds just happened to be the moment Noem greeted Trump on stage for a cheek kiss.
NBC News captured the moment:
Having watched the moment from multiple channels on Rumble, I considered the possibility this was just NBC News Photoshopping the sign behind them. None of the videos I watched captured it, but they were all at the wrong angle. Then, I found another version of the moment from a different angle, this time from CNN:
It’s real.
The seconds immediately before and after the brief greeting showed different images:
Smaller versions of the sign could be seen held by members of the crowd:
It’s unclear whether this is wishful thinking from Noem’s team or if the Trump campaign is already dropping hints to test the waters. Noem’s name has been at or near the top of the list of contenders to be Trump’s running mate. She is extremely popular in her own state and has achieved modest name recognition nationally (which isn’t hard considering the vast majority of GOP governors are feckless and not noteworthy).
Personally, I’m not a fan. She’s above average at best, perhaps a notch above where Mike Pence was as a governor before he turned treacherous, which seems to be almost immediately after settling in at the White House. But I’m open to warming up to Noem if she is indeed Trump’s pick. It’s not like we’ve had a single great Vice President in modern history. At least she’s not Dick Cheney… we hope.
This was a not-so-subtle hint. Whether it came from Team Noem or Team Trump is unknown. Either way, people are going to be talking about it so we might as well grab the popcorn.
Do you think Noem can be a good VP for Trump or not? Is she a RINO, an America First patriot, or somewhere in between? Sound off on my Substack.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
