This is what South Dakotans should do, the governor said, emphasizing should.
I was perplexed. It was March 23, 2020, almost two weeks since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in the state. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem was conducting a news conference about an executive order listing 20 things that should be done. People should engage in social distancing. Businesses should prevent customers from congregating in close quarters. Health-care facilities should postpone elective surgeries.
Noem used the word 13 times in her 12-minute news conference.
In these frightening early days of a global pandemic, speculation and misinformation were rampant. Clear communication from the governor was paramount. Another baffled reporter whod called in to the news conference asked Noem about her choice of words.
Is that a legal requirement, or is that advice?
Its telling them what they should do, Noem replied.
I pressed her further. To put the finest point possible on it, you said youre telling organizations, cities, etcetera, what to do, but it sounds like its still their choice? I asked. Youre not necessarily ordering something with the force of law?
I am telling them what they should be doing in this state, Noem said.
At the time, I chalked this oddity up to the ramblings of an overwhelmed governor.
Noems ambiguity foisted difficult decisions on local officials. Some imposed their own legal restrictions on people and businesses, only to backtrack weeks or months later under a hail of protest from their loudest critics. All the while, Noem and her health advisers floated above the fray.
The governor eventually took her hands-off approach to the extreme of going maskless at a mask factory, while South Dakota was suffering one of the worlds worst COVID-19 death rates. When criticism came, Noem combatively touted the states open and comparatively less-devastated economy.
As the pandemic wore on, Noems lack of clarity that day back in March 2020 proved to be a pivotal moment. Until then, she was relatively unknown nationally as a rural-state governor and former congresswoman.
By leaving her pandemic orders murky, she was eventually able to proclaim she never shut down her state. That attracted the attention of then-President Donald Trump, giving Noem the standing to invite him to a July 2020 fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. He accepted, and she nurtured the relationship all the way to a pick as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Trumps second administration.
Now, Im left wondering if Noems use of should was a bumbling error or a shrewd calculation.
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