Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem drew from U.S. history to condemn “violent mobs” in major cities during her Wednesday speech at the Republican National Convention, arguing that “the path taken by Democrats and their radical supporters” could destroy the country.
Noem opened her speech with a warning that America’s founding principles of equality, freedom and opportunity “are under attack.”
“This year, the choice for Americans is between a man who values these ideals and all that can be built because of them, and a man who isn’t guided by these ideals and, coincidentally, has built nothing,” she said, contrasting President Donald Trump with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
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“At times, our country has struggled to live up to our founding principles,” she continued. “Another great American, Abraham Lincoln, knew that struggle better than anybody. When he was just 28 years old, Honest Abe saw wild and furious passions, ‘worse than savage mobs,’ he said, taking the place of reasoned judgment. He was alarmed by the increasing disregard for the rule of law throughout the country. He was concerned for the people who had seen their property destroyed, their families attacked and their lives threatened or even taken away. These good people were becoming tired of, and disgusted with, a government that offered them no protection.”
Noem brought the comparison to today’s ongoing mob activity with a terse, “Sound familiar?”
“It took 244 years to build this great nation — flaws and all — but we stand to lose it in a tiny fraction of that time if we continue down the path taken by the Democrats and their radical supporters,” she said. “From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction and murder. People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t — good, hard-working Americans — are left to fend for themselves.”
The South Dakota governor contended that the GOP’s “commitment to individual rights and self-government is as necessary today as it was in 1860 when we won our first presidential election.”
She then gave Trump credit for shrinking government, lowering taxes, protecting the Second Amendment and advancing religious liberty. (RELATED: ‘I Believe In Our Freedoms And Liberties’: South Dakota Governor Responds To Critics Of State’s Coronavirus Response)
“You can look back 50 years, and you won’t find anyone that has surpassed President Trump’s success on these four issues alone,” she said. “President Trump places the American people, American liberty, American security and the American Constitution before all else.”