South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, one of Donald Trump's leading contenders for running mate, posted a video on X on Monday in which she speaks fawningly of a Texas dental company that she said "fix[ed] her smile," sparking speculation about why the governor is doing promotions for a private company.
The nearly five-minute video — in which she calls the company, Smile Texas, "absolutely phenomenal" — looks and sounds like an ad. Noem's office did not immediately respond to MSNBC’s request for comment on whether the governor received financial compensation from Smile Texas, or if the procedure was done in exchange for the video.
"The team here was remarkable, and finally gave me a smile that I can be proud of and confident in, and that really is a gift that I think is going to be incredibly special to have," Noem says to the camera, explaining in laborious detail her experience with cosmetic dentistry.
“It means a lot to me that something as small as your smile really can change the world,” she adds later. “I think that people’s first impressions of you are important, and I want people to know how much I enjoy seeing them and how much I love being with people, and the fact that he gave me the smile to do that now — I’ll be eternally grateful.”
The bizarre video has raised questions about why Noem was making the video about the dental company, and why the governor of South Dakota — who launched a program last year to recruit people to live and work in her state — was promoting a company in Texas.