Within hours of the far-right blog American Greatness claiming that Kristi Noem has been carrying on an extramarital affair with Corey Lewandowski “for months,” the South Dakota governor issued a categorical denial. On Twitter, the Republican called the unsourced report “total garbage and a disgusting lie.”
Meanwhile, Lewandowski stands accused by Politico of making unwanted sexual advances to a top GOP donor’s wife over the weekend. While Noem’s office referred to her statement on Twitter, Lewandowski did not respond to a request to comment from the Washington Examiner.
One of Noem’s closest former advisers for 18 months, Maggie Seidel, had few nice things to say about Lewandowski in her first on-the-record remarks to a reporter since departing the governor’s office in April, but she defended Noem from allegations of infidelity.
“There’s plenty to disagree with Noem on,” Seidel, who served as a policy director for Noem, said. “For one, I think it’s outrageous that she continues to affiliate herself with Corey Lewandowski, but unequivocally, there’s no evidence that she stepped out of the marriage. It’s just an outrageous lie.”
Lewandowski, who Seidel deems a “bum,” has been in Noem’s orbit since she became the state’s first female governor, but the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump ingratiated himself in her inner circle around the time of her Mount Rushmore speech with the former president on July 3 of last year. With Lewandowski’s help, Noem quickly became a rising star in the GOP, considered not just a top contender for 2024, but also briefly rumored to replace Vice President Mike Pence on Trump’s 2020 ticket. The telegenic Noem has also become a consistent presence on cable news since the start of the pandemic.
Although, as Seidel put it, Lewandowski “gave her access” to the resources and riches of Trumpworld, he clashed with her staff. Prior to the 2020 election, the New York Times reported that Noem’s second chief-of-staff, Joshua Shields, quit “in part because of the increased role” of Lewandowski.
Lewandowski has somewhat of a checkered personal and professional history. During Trump’s 2016 campaign, he was charged with simple battery in Florida for manhandling Michelle Fields, then a Breitbart reporter, and in 2017, pro-Trump personality Joy Villa accused Lewandowski, who has been married since 2005, of sexually harassing and slapping her.
But Seidel maintains that Noem would “never” cheat on Bryon Noem, her husband of nearly 30 years.
“Under no circumstances would I say that she stepped out on the marriage,” Seidel said, not with Lewandowski or any other man.
“He’s horrible,” Seidel said of Lewandowski. “She’s not stupid. She knows that. He gave her access — I’m assuming that’s why he kept her around. But if this doesn’t sever the relationship, God, does she have bigger problems.”
