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South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem is being dragged on the internet again, this time for an inflammatory Independence Day tweet that wasn't quite what it appeared to be.
Noem attempted to troll President Joe Biden by posting pictures of herself and her family frowning theatrically under a photo of fireworks at Mount Rushmore—known as Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe Paha before the land was illegally seized and the name changed. The area belongs to the Oceti Sakowin according to the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.
Noem's image included the caption:
"'Trump's America' ⬆️ 'Joe Biden's America' ⬇️"
The arrow indicated fireworks at Mount Rushmore were "Trump's America" while her pouting family were "Joe Biden's America."
The GOP governor added the hashtag #SparklersSuck.
#SparklersSuckpic.twitter.com/s45iB7eWrU— Kristi Noem (@Kristi Noem) 1625482816
It soon came to light the fireworks were, in fact, from "Obama & Biden's America," as the photo had been taken during their administration when Biden was Vice President.
Here's a fun fact about that "Trump's America" fireworks photo:\n\nIt's actually a composite image, made of many photos combined, because no one moment of the fireworks was actually impressive enough on its own.\n\nAlso Gov Noem cropped the photo to remove the photographer's credit.pic.twitter.com/LqNhiolPN3— Kendall Youens (@Kendall Youens) 1625494545
The image was a composite photo made by photographer Matt Halvorsen and posted to his website in 2015.
At that time, Halvorsen said the photos had been taken "a few years ago."
Much like the land Mount Rushmore was built on, Gov. Noem\u2019s fireworks photo was stolen.https://twitter.com/kendallybrown/status/1412052582718218240\u00a0\u2026— Kendall Youens (@Kendall Youens) 1625496078
Another fun fact about Gov. Noem's "Trump's America" fireworks photo:\n\nI checked the website code for the photo, and it was originally published in 2015, meaning it's actually a photo of Barack Obama's America. \n\nhttps://twitter.com/kendallybrown/status/1412052582718218240\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/ueydp2CnUI— Kendall Youens (@Kendall Youens) 1625497453
It appears the image that Kristi Noem used as an example of the Fourth of July in "Trump's America" was taken during the Obama Administration https://matthalvorsonphotography.com/happy-fourth-of-july/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/1D3SrE8MFn— Ben Jacobs (@Ben Jacobs) 1625526560
Several people chastised Noem for removing the photographer's credit from the image before attempting to pass it off as a more recent photo.
Wow, great work! And Governor, putting all politics aside, it is inexcusable to remove the photographer\u2019s name. Even just republishing without authorization is sketchy at best. What values are you broadcasting here?\n@nppalawyer @NPPA @BurnsTheLawyer @Unite4Copyright @CIP2GMU— neil turkewitz (@neil turkewitz) 1625502269
Of course she did...rules are for the little people— Cloud (@Cloud) 1625536337
She should be sued for copyright infringement since she purposefully edited out the photographer\u2019s watermark.— Krys10iam (@Krys10iam) 1625528624
Many people also goaded Noem with photos and notes about fireworks displays in other parts of "Biden's America."
Wow @KristiNoem check out these 555 ft 'sparklers' as tall as the Washington Monument me and thousands others saw in DC yesterday w the president for 17 minutes and no one attacked the Capitol, amazing #BidensAmericapic.twitter.com/3FyX0mqFVV— Maria de los Angeles (@Maria de los Angeles) 1625503888
We had fireworks in NewYork Kristi.\n\nAnd over 70% of us are vaccinated. \n\nMaybe you\u2019re just bad at your job.— Chris Hahn (@Chris Hahn) 1625504133
We had fireworks in Charlotte! Noem is just a taller Boebert.— MaDukes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@MaDukes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1625524466
Yes why doesn\u2019t she just \u201cpull herself up by her bootstraps\u201d and stop waiting for \u201chand outs\u201d from the government. Every other state seemed to figure out there is a thing called local July 4th celebrations.— Take the Shot (@Take the Shot) 1625515374
Noem is likely upset the fireworks at the national monument have been stopped again due to risk of fire and damage to Indigenous unceded lands. The yearly pyrotechnics display had been discontinued in 2010, but was brought back in 2020 by former President Donald Trump.
Her request to hold the fireworks display this year was denied by the National Park Service due to continued safety concerns.
The request, and Noem's subsequent lawsuit, also faced backlash from local tribal leadership.
Court documents show Steve Vance, historic preservation officer for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said of the request:
"The fact that this event could be forced upon us in our sacred lands despite our clear opposition to the event traumatizes us as a people and inflicts grief upon us. To us, allowing this event to occur again is a colonial attack on one of our most sacred places."