South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Allows Private Businesses to Enforce COVID-19 Vaccine Passports

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem gained praise during 2020 for refusing to lockdown South Dakota or enforcing mask mandates.

However, Noem has received a firestorm of criticism for her recent tweet about the topic of COVID-19 Vaccine Passports.

Here’s the controversial tweet:

Workers whose employers are mandating a vaccine for continued employment have the power to say no. Our robust economy and job market gives them the option to find a new employer that values personal choice and responsibility, and doesn’t force mandates on their employees.

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) July 31, 2021

While Noem issued an executive order banning COVID-19 Vaccine Passports from the state government, this is a clear indicator that private businesses can get away with it in South Dakota.

Corporations will have the power to trample on your rights and freedom of choice in South Dakota.

It’s a pathetically weak stance from Noem and she received rightful vitriol for the cowardice.

Maybe you don’t realize this? https://t.co/4BXWJc1ro8

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) July 31, 2021

You’re a coward and failure. Grifters who are awestruck by z-list “talent” will tell you otherwise. You are a joke. https://t.co/Mh0yrcShso

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) July 31, 2021

How @KristiNoem tells you the check cleared from Big Pharma without telling you the check cleared from Big Pharma. https://t.co/JDakaPMwpO

— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) July 31, 2021

Don’t like your employer’s vaccine rules? Noem says: Find a new job. https://t.co/MKUp32A7Y4

— Joe Sneve (@DakotaScoutJoe) July 31, 2021

Kristi Noem Faces Backlash From Conservatives Over Tweet About Employer Vaccine Mandates https://t.co/2Y2MXQ3VXo pic.twitter.com/gYpzF9YWI2

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 2, 2021

That's your advice?

Who's the lobbyist in your ear this time? https://t.co/IdzFKrS4AN

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) July 31, 2021

We dodged a massive bullet with Kristi Noem.

Thankfully she outed herself as another Chamber of Commerce cuck early enough in the game.

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) August 1, 2021

Noem has now failed two major tests — protecting femininity from Rainbow Jihad and protecting workers from corporate fascism. What do these two issues have in common? She sided with business interests over individual freedoms.

True liberty opposes tyranny regardless of sector.

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) August 1, 2021

https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1421600593286737927

I had big hope for ⁦@govkristinoem⁩ ,but her recent stances on transgender men competing in women’s sports & backing employer vaccine mandates has made me realize that she is just another RINO turncoat. See ‘ya, Governor! #AmericaFirst 👇🏻 https://t.co/VrjWOIxTE3

— Steven Baio (@Fiobaio) August 2, 2021

LifeSiteNews reported:

South Dakota’s Republican Gov. Kristi Noem told her constituents over the weekend that they will just need to find a different job if a company within the state mandates that they receive a vaccination against COVID-19.

“Workers whose employers are mandating a vaccine for continued employment have the power to say no,” Noem tweeted on Saturday. “Our robust economy and job market gives them the option to find a new employer that values personal choice and responsibility, and doesn’t force mandates on their employees.”

Some South Dakota employers, including Sanford Health, recently mandated the experimental COVID jab.

Considered a potential contender for the 2024 presidential election, Noem has generally taken a hands-off approach to the coronavirus. However, what critics call her refusal to protect her constituents from COVID vaccine mandates puts her at odds with another potential 2024 contender, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Like Noem, DeSantis largely rejected the large-scale lockdowns that many Republican and Democratic states implemented, focusing instead on protecting the state’s numerous elderly residents. Unlike Noem, however, he also signed legislation prohibiting both private industry and government vaccine passports, which prohibit citizens from entering places without proof of vaccination.

This is not the first time Noem has drawn criticism for refusing to stand up to major corporations in her state.

For example, in March, she vetoed legislation to ensure that athletes at public schools and universities compete only against biological members of their own sex. After initially expressing support for the legislation, critics say Noem appeared to cave to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

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Her chief of staff served on the board of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. Another Noem advisor is a lobbyist for Sanford Health, which owns a sports complex that wanted to compete for NCAA tournaments.

“Employers view the workforce as a place of inclusion,” the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce president told The Federalist.

One commentator said that Noem’s recent agenda on COVID is “tone deaf.”

Unless Noem changes her stance, she deserves zero consideration as a presidential or even vice-presidential candidate.

If there’s one thing government is supposed to do is prevent other entities from trampling on your rights.

And Noem’s tweet reveals she is perfectly fine turning a blind eye to corporations violating our rights.