South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is preparing for her statewide close-up. How else to interpret her recent controversial trip to Texas to “fix” her smile, documented in a long video?
You know, the one she posted on . She said she documented her journey to a smile “that I can be proud of and confident in.”
The result was so reminiscent of a commercial that Travelers United, a consumer advocacy group, is suing Ms. Noem for false advertising, claiming she was actually acting as a travel influencer. Vanity Fair wrote that the whole operation “blown up in her face.”
Except one thing. Dental history is about much more than just teeth.
As the race for Donald J. Trump’s candidacy heats up, Ms. Noem’s new smile reflects a tactical move that has as much to do with politics and psychology as looks.
“It’s all about her appealing to an audience,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist. “The whole teeth thing almost looks like it was designed for Trump. She shows him that she works well in front of the camera, that she has the star power he wants on stage, and at the same time that she fits into the image of women in the Trump universe.”
Mr. Trump, after all, was the president who often referred to his staff, especially military personnel, as members of the “central occupation.” He now dresses almost exclusively in the colors of the American flag. He once proclaimed that women should “dress like women” — and as Richard Thompson Ford, a law professor at Stanford University and author of “Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History,” said, “We know what that means .” to him.” This is reflected in the profile of almost every woman in Trump’s entourage, including his family members and his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
In this regard, Ms. Noem’s dental enhancement is simply the latest step in a seemingly years-long makeover that has transformed her, more than any other woman on Mr. Trump’s short list, into what Samantha N. Sheppard, professor of cinema and cinema, is a media scholar at Cornell University called him “the perfect embellishment for Trump.” Even beyond her popularity and credentials as governor and her MAGA platform, she offers an example of a certain kind of “Miss America-like white femininity,” said Ms. Sheppard, which is also reflected in Fox News hosts and includes, that her hair is cascaded. Extensive eyelashes and a radiant smile.
How does Mr. Trump know she is part of his team? He just has to look.
The story is told in the pictures. In 2010, when she first ran for Congress, Ms. Noem had a haircut that looked like a cross between “The Rachel,” the layered, slicked-back haircut made famous by Jennifer Aniston in “Friends,” and that of Hillary preferred Power Bob looked Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. When she won re-election in 2012, she turned it into a short look that Ms. Sheppard compared to Kate Gosselin’s signature haircut from “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” albeit a little more corporatized.
After Mr. Trump won the presidency and the MAGA movement gained momentum, Ms. Noem adopted a new persona. Her hair grew longer and longer, with tousled waves kissed by the curling iron, her part moved to the middle. She began to seem like a doppelganger to Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée. Or a dark-haired version of Lara Trump, Eric Trump’s wife and new co-chair of the Republican National Committee. Even Ms. Noem’s clothing changed, from the khaki shirtdress she wore to CPAC in 2011 to the bright blue sheath dress she chose for her State of the State address this year.
There is no better example of her transformation than the cover image of her new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” which features a portrait of Ms. Noem with glossy lips, thick eyelashes and one hand appears to be playing with her wavy locks as she sits on her desk chair in front of the American flag in a blazer and dress.
“She practically looks like a member of the Trump family,” Mr. Bonjean said. “Maybe a cousin.”
And while her Trumpification could be a coincidence, Ms. Noem has shown that she is sensitive to the implications and uses of costumes, as seen in recent ads in which she has dressed up as a dental hygienist, an electrician and a highway patrolman, all the better for conveying the idea that “South Dakota is hiring.” (“We have over 20,000 open positions,” she says in one ad. Plus no individual income tax!)
“It is absolutely strategic,” Mr. Ford said. Ms. Noem “is signaling that she will be Trump’s wife.” And at the same time, that she will not challenge him.”
This approach to political image-making has its roots in the pantomimic femininity of Phyllis Schlafly and Sarah Palin, where the promise of a powerful woman was distorted by her participation in the pageantry of traditional gender cosplay.
The teeth simply complete the picture, as does the fact that Ms. Noem took the opportunity to speak to the dentist who performed the procedure. If anyone would recognize the value of using power to promote products, it would be Mr. Trump himself. And you might recognize a kindred spirit in the process.
The governor may sell herself partly as a cowgirl to the grassroots, but Ms. Noem speaks Mr. Trump’s language and proves she belongs and is fully on board with his vision. That she will “get in line and stay in line,” Ms. Sheppard said. “That she knows how to behave and who she should be.”
In any case, he clearly noticed it. A few days after the dental news broke, Ms. Noem attended a rally with Mr. Trump for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Vandalia, Ohio. After she spoke – they wore matching MAGA hats – Mr Trump announced: “You’re not allowed to say it, so I won’t say it. You’re not allowed to say she’s beautiful, so I won’t say it either.”
What else could she do but smile?
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2024-03-20 09:04:53
www.nytimes.com