South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Wednesday discussed the possibility of Mount Rushmore becoming a target of protesters as calls to remove statues and monuments to American leaders with any flaws have increased.
On Tuesday, Noem responsed to a sarcastic tweet from Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro, asking when the angry mobs tearing down statues will turn their attention to Mount Rushmore. Noem declared, "Not on my watch."
During an interview with "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday, Noem reinforced her promise to protect the monument and said she believes that the ripping down of statues is not about equality, but about erasing America's history.
"What my message is, is that this is no longer about equality, this is a radical rewriting of our history and in South Dakota we won’t stand for it," she said. "This is a national monument. The more we focus on the flaws of these men that are on our mountain, the less likely we are to recognize the virtues and the lessons we can learn from their lives. So that really is the message that I have for South Dakotans that love this mountain and Mount Rushmore for this country, that recognize what it represents to us and we will do all that we can to make sure that that message is loud and clear, that we will make sure that Mount Rushmore stays as majestic as it is today."
"This whole conversation has changed," she added. "It's gone away from equality and it's a radical movement that's rewriting our history, that will take away all the lessons that we want to teach our kids and our grandkids. George Washington was a unifier. He brought this country together to lead us at a time when we needed the birth of the nation to get started."