Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has requested a story involving him in South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s controversial autobiography be corrected.


What You Need To Know

  • Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has requested a story involving him in South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s controversial autobiography be corrected

  • It’s the latest blowback related to the book by Noem, once considered a strong prospect to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate this year

  • In her book “No Going Back,” Noem claimed that after the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording — in which Trump boated about kissing and groping women without their consent — became public weeks before the 2016 election, the entire South Dakota congressional delegation “was not supportive of Trump"

  • But Rounds is disputing the story -- Rounds condemned Trump’s comments in it, but he did not call for him to drop out of the race, his office said

It’s the latest blowback related to the book by Noem, once considered a strong prospect to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate this year. 

In her book “No Going Back,” Noem claimed that after the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording — in which Trump boated about kissing and groping women without their consent — became public weeks before the 2016 election, the entire South Dakota congressional delegation “was not supportive of Trump.”

“Every one of the Republicans called for Trump to drop out of the race, which meant they believed Hillary Clinton should be the next president. Amazing, right?" Noem wrote.

Noem, who was a congresswoman at the time, claims she was the only member of the delegation to stand by Trump.

But Rounds is disputing the story. 

In a statement, Rounds spokeswoman Lydia Hall said: “We have not read the book, but someone pointed out that among the inaccuracies, there was one that referenced Senator Rounds. We’ve asked the publisher to correct that error in their next revision and they confirmed that they are making the correction after reviewing the facts.” 

Hall’s statement did not specify the inaccuracy. The Dakota Scout was the first to report it was related to the excerpt about the aftermath of the “Access Hollywood” tape.

Neither Noem’s office nor the book’s publisher, Hachette Book Group, have responded to Spectrum News’ emails seeking comment.

After the recording was released, Rounds condemned Trump’s comments in it, but he did not call for him to drop out of the race, his office told the Argus Leader.

Similarly, Noem criticized Trump’s remarks in October 2016 but did not demand he exit the race.

“No one should ever talk about a woman — another person for that matter — in the repulsive way that Donald Trump did. Period,” she wrote on the social media site then known as Twitter

Earlier this month, Noem’s office said the book’s publisher was correcting two other errors: a false claim that she had met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and incorrect dates about conversations she had with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Noem also has come under fire for writing in the book that she fatally shot her dog, Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointed, because he was an untrainable hunting dog and killed her neighbor’s chickens.