Kristi Noem and Kari Lake both want to be Trump’s VP and the claws are officially out

More drama in the MAGAverse.

South Dakota embarrassment Kristi Noem endorsed Donald Trump‘s 2024 bid for president and then plugged herself for vice president over the weekend, and it’s not sitting so well with another member of the MAGA cult.

Noem called the 77-year-old, one-term, twice-impeached, four-time indicted ex-president “the only person in the race that I trust to do what needs to be done” during a campaign rally he held in Rapid City, South Dakota on Friday.

Asked by right-wing propaganda network Newsmax after the event if she would consider being Trump’s VP, the Bible-loving, trans-hating 51-year-old didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I would in a heartbeat.”

“Trump needs a strong partner,” she continued. “He’s gonna need somebody who knows what it’s like to run a business … also to have a wife, mom, and grandmother isn’t bad either.”

Kristi Noem makes her pitch to be Trump’s running mate: “I would in a heartbeat. Trump needs a strong partner. He’s gonna need somebody who knows what it’s like to run a business .. also to have a wife, mom, and grandmother isn’t bad either.” pic.twitter.com/pmpGszWOhc

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 8, 2023

This didn’t go over so well with anti-drag MAGA queen Kari Lake.

Shortly after Noem’s endorsement of Trump, Lake went on Newsmax to say that she was glad the queer-hating governor finally got around to endorsing Trump but quickly pointed out that she herself has been supporting him since “before he even jumped in” the 2024 race.

Then she took a dig at Noem for pitching herself for VP.

“Anyone who’s talking about a position and dreaming about a position in Trump’s second administration really needs to get off their high horse,” Lake quipped, adding that people’s attention should be focused “in the grassroots and start making sure Trump has a second administration.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” the 54-year-old election denier noted. “I’m not thinking about any other position except how can we save our republic.”

Lake has spent the better part of this year angling to be Trump’s running mate, campaigning for him at events all across the country and reportedly going so far as to move into a suite at Mar-a-Lago to be closer to him, much to ex-FLOTUS Melania Trump‘s chagrin.

“Kari Lake is there all the time,” a source told People back in June. “There’s a suite there that she practically lives in.”

The failed gubernatorial candidate eventually had to deny living at Mar-a-Lago, saying that, while she certainly spends time at the compound, “she overnights at Hilton properties in Palm Beach with her loving husband of 25 years.”

Unfortunately, Lake’s chances at being Trump’s #2 seem to be dwindling by the day.

In addition to losing every single court case and appeal she filed contesting her 2022 election loss, a recent poll conducted by the nonpartisan research group Noble Predictive Insights found that 51% of Arizona voters, including 29% of Republicans, held an unfavorable view of her. Meanwhile, just 35% said they held a favorable opinion of her.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that she’s never actually held public office or won an election before.

But all this catty in-fighting may end up being for naught.

With the first primaries still several months away, and with four lawsuits and 91 criminal charges in front of him, there’s absolutely no guarantee Trump will be the GOP nominee for president in 2024. Sure, he might be the frontrunner today, but a lot could–and certainly will–happen between now and Super Tuesday.

Until then we’ll keep the popcorn machine fired up.