Danielle Smith is friends with Kristi noem
Executive summary
There is no clear public evidence that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and South Dakota Governor (and later U.S. Homeland Security Secretary nominee) Kristi Noem are personal friends; reporting shows political alignment, public meetings and mutual visibility rather than documented private friendship [1] [2]. Available sources establish meetings, praise and comparisons—Smith has pointed to Noem as a political model and posed with Noem in public—but none of the provided reporting describes a personal friendship or private relationship beyond these public interactions [3] [1].
1. Public meetings and photo opportunities: repeated, documented interactions
Reporting records that Smith met Noem during a diplomatic trip to the Western Governors’ Association conference in Las Vegas and posed for photos while discussing border security and trade, signaling a public working relationship and mutual acknowledgement at official events [1] [2] [4]. These meetings are concrete: several outlets note Smith’s Washington/Boston-area outreach to Republican governors including Noem as part of a broader U.S. charm offensive to avert tariff harm and discuss border issues [1] [2]. Public meetings and social-media photos constitute evidence of political engagement and strategic alignment, but do not on their own prove personal friendship beyond the public, political realm [1].
2. Political admiration and modeling: Smith cites Noem as an exemplar
Danielle Smith has publicly referenced Kristi Noem as a model for the kind of “bastions of freedom” she admires, grouping Noem alongside Ron DeSantis when speaking about red-state policy examples for Alberta, which indicates ideological admiration and rhetorical alignment [3] [5]. Opinion pieces and columns have observed Smith’s embrace of U.S. conservative figures and explicitly compared her style and political theatrics to Noem’s, portraying Smith as adopting Noem-like branding and policy cues [6] [3]. Political admiration and public emulation are documented; admiration is a form of political affinity but not synonymous with personal friendship [3].
3. Media framing and opinion: narrative of similarity, not intimacy
Multiple opinion and local outlets frame Smith as “Noem-like” or liken her theatrics and policy stances to Noem’s, a framing that amplifies perceived closeness while primarily focusing on policy mimicry and spectacle rather than private ties [6] [3]. Coverage emphasizing Smith’s “charm offensive” and republic meetings highlights strategic optics—photo ops and shared messaging—rather than reporting on social or off-the-record interactions that would substantiate a friendship claim [1] [2]. The distinction between media shorthand (“Smith is like Noem”) and verified interpersonal friendship is essential; the sources provided emphasize the former [6] [3].
4. What the reporting does not show: no sourced claim of personal friendship
None of the supplied articles or snippets contain a sourced statement that Smith and Noem are friends in a personal sense—there are no cited private communications, long-standing social ties, or off-the-record attestations in the provided material [1] [3] [2]. Reporting documents meetings, praise and political alignment, and it would be inaccurate to label them personal friends based solely on that material; if a definitive claim of friendship is required, additional reporting or firsthand statements would be necessary, which are not present in the sources given [1] [4].
5. Bottom line — political allies and rhetorical allies, not proven personal friends
Based on the available reporting, the most accurate characterization is that Danielle Smith and Kristi Noem are political and rhetorical allies who have met publicly and exchanged optics and messaging, but there is no explicit evidence in these sources that they maintain a private personal friendship; the record supports public engagement, admiration and policy emulation rather than documented friendship [1] [3] [2]. If the question demands proof of personal friendship, the limitation of the current reporting must be acknowledged: it shows alignment and meetings but not the private relationship that the word “friends” implies [1] [3].