will take place again in the greatest nation that the world has ever known. god bless you. thank you all for being here. and may the god bless your good works. thank you so much. [applause] >> amazing crowd. >> the iowa family leader summit also heard from south dakota governor kristi noem, who has been mentioned as another 2024 presidential contender. her speech runs about 15 minutes. [applause]

>> good afternoon, thank you. i was doing really good until they showed that video of foster , so i am a little bit of a mess right now. i love foster and lynn so much and foster changed my life. i did not know him more than a hand will of years -- i'm going to tell you one quick story. when i decided to run for governor, i walked into my first republican governors meeting, and it was a reception with hundreds of people. most people don't know this about me, that i tend to be more of an introvert. i love people and being around people, but going into crowded rooms of people, even after spending a lot of years in public office, i always have to go ok, i can do this, i will

meet new people and it will be wonderful. i walked into this room and did not recognize anybody and i saw a cowboy hat. i thought, i'm going to talk to the cowboy hat. i don't know if we have one in here. but i did, and foster introduced me i every single person in that room and we became dear friends. he and lynn, they came into this world to put into people and be jesus in the flesh, and they continue to do that. last year they called us around christmas time and foster said we want to give you money to donate to a charity in your name in south dakota, but we also want to do it for your husband and your children. we were blown away. we got all of the kids together and sat around the table and

that foster and lynn are giving us this gift of donating to a charity in our names, who would you like to donate to? we had the best discussion, the kids went through days of research on charities, the number one priority was it a christ centered charity, about lifting people up and giving them the tools they needed spiritually as well as to get back on their feet. it was an incredible exercise for our family to go through with them recognizing how special this was and the people blessed because of it, and they taught our children how exciting it can be to give. that's one thing foster said all the time, if it was his money, he would hang onto it, but if it wasn't the lords's money, he would give it away. that is important for us to remember, that whatever we have is the lords to give away. i want to thank bob for inviting

me, and friendly the first person who invited me was kim reynolds. you guys have a fantastic governor. i love her. [applause] she called me and asked me to come and i said i will do anything for you. that's why i am here and i am grateful to have the opportunity to chat with all of you today. in reality, the first time you heard my name was probably when i was attacked by the liberals in the media who said i was making all the wrong decisions for my people in south dakota. i want you to know that my people are happy. they are happy because they are free. they are free and have an appreciation for the values and rents apples that have made this country the greatest country in the world. when i ran for governor, iran on it being an example to the nation. i had no idea it would happen through a pandemic. but it did.

when liberals were coming after me and attacking me, i stayed focus on giving our people as much information as i had, trusting them, and letting them use personal responsibility to make the best decisions to protect their families health, and to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. south dakota is an incredible spot today. i have had a lot of jobs in my life. i am a wife, mother, i have been a farmer and rancher my entire life, ran a hunting lodge and restaurant, i have a waitress, a checkout girl, i sold vacuum cleaners. [laughter] yes i did, and to this day i could still tell you the best one to get. [laughter] unsold carpet cleaning over the phone, which apparently i was incredible at. i took care of people in their home, i was a home health care person. i would say that probably my

most important job is one i got three weeks ago, and that is a grandma. i am a new grandmother and i love it. [applause] her name is adeline, and she has changed my life forever. how many of you are grandparents and can testify to that? she is fantastic. i had a bunch of high school champions at the governor's residence in south dakota this week, and one of them raised his hand and said does making a granddaughter you want to be more involved in politics and government or less so you can stay-at-home and hold her? that was a tough decision because i really hate, i hate this america we are giving her. i don't recognize the country i had the opportunity to grow up in. i just don't. when i grew up, people were

proud to have a job. they were not confused on the difference between boys and girls. we prayed in schools, and in south dakota, i am putting prayer back in schools. [applause] we stood for the national anthem , we honored our flag and we were a country that was proud of our history. that is not joe biden's america. his america is built on hate, division, hitting people against each other, and it is a shame to watch the violence and crime and lack of unity america sees today. that is one of the reasons i am still involved and i am still running for reelection. i will be involved because i believe one person cannot save this country but we all have our parts. we all have our part to do, and all of us need to step up. my husband says all the time,

you pick the hardest thing to do. there will be four things in front of you and you will pick the hardest one. i say, it is the right one. it's always the one i think is right. we honestly need to understand we have an opportunity in front of us. that is a little bit about what i want to talk to you about today. i was the first candidate in the country to sign the 1776 pledge. i did that with dr. ben carson, a pledge that every candidate in the country could sign saying they are going to ensure that the honest history of this country is told to our children and taught in our schools. [applause] that the 1619 project, critical race theory, are hate and division and racism and has no place in america. we do not have hatred and racism

in our dna, we reject that, it is a lie. if you want to know what kind of leaders you have and you are voting for, check first to make sure they have signed onto the 1776 pledge. ensure everyone who is running elected office, school board, county commission, all the way up to state elected officials and the federal level, there is nothing in the 1776 pledge that they would disagree with if they want to live up to and continue to grow in the america we continue to do. this organization stands for a revived america that honors god and blesses people. that is exactly the type of heartfelt message we all to embrace today. i think you all know my story. since i was a little girl, all i wanted to do was be a farmer and rancher. my dad was a cowboy and one of the reasons i love iowa so much

is because i feel at home on a tractor and chasing cows, my dad was a lot like john wayne. he loved john wayne very much. he quoted him quite often to us. we are burning daylight. you could be scared to death, saddle up anyway. it seems like he always bought me a horse i had to break myself. he was tough, he yelled up the stairs every morning and said get up, more people die in red than anywhere else. i remember laying in bed being like do they really? he would say it fast. -- say sleep fast. i love my dad and when i grew up all he wanted was to farm and ranch with him. he was killed in an accident when he was 49 years old and our whole life changed. i was in college but i came home and became the general manager

of the operation. we got hit with death taxes. we had a lot of land, machinery and cattle, but we did not have a lot of on in the bank. it made me angry. people ask how i got involved in government and politics, it was because of that. we really needed to show up and have an impact on the country. that is why i got involved in politics, served in the legislature, was in congress, ran for governor because the governor has the opportunity to be a ceo, to make an agenda. my agenda was to build strong families, make decisions that would build strong families and be an example to the nation, estate people could look to that would grow and thrive and caray opportunity america new would be special. i have committed to be the most pro-life governor there is, we did eight pro-life ills in our legislative session this year, one that protected children with down syndrome. [applause]

i believe i am still the only governor in the country that has a person on staff whose job description is to be an unborn child advocate. he wakes up every day looking for ways in statute and law to defend life and make sure it will be protected. [applause] we are continuing every day to keep our low tax environment, low regulatory environment. the first bill i signed into law was constitutional carry. we will defend our freedoms and continue to be a state that wraps its arms around law enforcement officers. [applause] in fact, last year in august and september, i saw the violence and riots and other cities and i said to myself, this isn't right. we did when we give national advertising to law enforcement advertising -- enforcement officers, do you want to live somewhere where we support and honor you and take care of your families?

move to south dakota. in one week, 900 police officers from 41 states said i want to live in south dakota and be part of your way of life. [applause] my 2020 state of the state address was titled open for business. isn't that kind of prophetic? [laughter] at that time, the virus had not hit us in the midwest at all, we had no idea what was in front of us, and my state of the state is titled open for business. we were the only state that did not close of business, never defined an essential business because i did not believe governors have the authority to tell you your business was not essential. we did not shelter-in-place or mandate, we trusted people. we have the least amount of hours lost by any worker in the country, least amount of wages lost by any worker in the country, least amount of businesses that closed because of the pandemic, our unemployment is 2.9%, and we

have the fastest growing gdp rate in the country at 9.9%. [applause] thousands of people are moving to south dakota, not because of our weather. [laughter] they are moving because they want to be like us, they want to live somewhere where the government respects them. in our state, he just did what conservatives have always said they believed -- we did it and proved it works. south dakota has been an example to the nation. i was shocked by how the media and liberals use fear to control people and how people gave up their freedoms. they rolled over. because the government told them they could not assemble, they said we will not assemble. you cannot go to church, they gave up freedom of religion. they told them what they could say and not say, and they gave up read him of speech. we need strong leaders that have an tenacity, the right decision

the first time and protect their people, understand their constitutional authority and stand by it, even in an unprecedented situation. that is what i will encourage you to continue to look for. i am going to tell you one story, i am out of time. i spoke in church about a week ago and i talked about heroes. this world is looking for idols and music stars and movie stars and i talked instead that what we needed was more heroes. heroes, like the biblical heroes we find in heroes -- hebrews 11. we have people who stepped up and lived there faith and lived there faith even though they never had the fulfillment and promise during their lifetimes. abraham, joseph, sarah. many of them lived for many years and never saw god's promise to them fulfilled that they were faithful.

this country, this world is looking for idols, people to look up to. we need biblical heroes. hebrews 11 reference someone going through challenging times of violence and uncertain times and he cried out to the lord and he said answer me, what is going on? when will i get the answer, what is your purpose? the lord responded back and that, if i told you, you would not believe it. if i told you, you would not believe it. don't you feel sometimes that way today? this is exactly what the lord said in that scripture verse. write my answers plainly on tablets so a runner can carry the correct messages to others. this vision is for a future time. it describes the end and it will be fulfilled. it seems to be slow in coming up but wait patiently, for it surely will take place. it will not be delayed, and look at the proud. they trust in themselves and their lives are crooked.

but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to god. that is what the lord said. we need faithful people right now and we need an example of people who are faithful even during challenging times. my favorite song is the battle hymn of the republic. written during the civil war, when she wrote that song to new lyrics, god woke her up and gave her the lyrics to that song. sing it with me. ♪ mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored this truth is marching on ♪ now we are going to get louder. ♪ glory, glory hallelujah

glory, glory hallelujah glory, glory hallelujah his truth is marching on ♪ ♪ be faithful. be faithful, be strong. and be happy. god bless you and may god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause] >> now, remarks from armor vice