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Kristi Noem: “I never even defined what an essential business was because…”

Featuring: Kristi Noem, Republican | Secretary of Homeland Security, Former Governor of South Dakota | National

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'Joe Biden Is A Weak President': Kristi Noem Blasts POTUS, Praises Trump At Detroit, Michigan, Event

Published | Video Starts at 03:52

We ended up being the only state in the country that never once closed a single business. We never mandated any masks or vaccines. I never even defined what an essential business was because I don't believe the government has the ability or the authority to tell you that your business is an essential. Also, we're the only state in the entire country that didn't take the elevated unemployment benefits. We said, thank you, Mr. President, for the flexibility, but our people want to work. (03:52–04:01)

CLAIM

Asserts that South Dakota did not define essential businesses during COVID-19.

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PolitiQuote is a civic library index to statements made by politicians in publicly available video records. The index is created automatically from transcripts, with no editorial oversight or analysis. Highlighted quotes are selected by AI. Words may be added in parentheses to offer context for the quote. There may be errors in the transcription and display, so listen to the video to ensure accuracy.

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