- I wanna ask you a little bit about

those traditional biblicalprinciples we hear about,

are they under assault?

We know this, seven years agowhen I was out on the ranch,

I like my accent there,

you said this to me in our interview,

you said, "The way God isgoing to fix this country

"is maybe by changing people's hearts

"and getting them more geared toward him."

What are you seeing in ourculture today, governor?

- Well, there's consequencesfor how we talk to each other.

And I think we're seeingthat every day in Portland,

Seattle, here in DC, in theviolence that's happening,

we've dehumanized people over the years.

And we frankly live in a country

that is addicted to being offended.

And I had a pastor yearsago that said about offense

that people are gonna throwthem out all the time,

but you're the one who decides

if you wanna go pick it upand carry it around with you,

and then you're the one with the burden.

But what I found in our culture today is,

people love being offended.

And that that is reapinghavoc on our culture

and our way of life in people's hearts.

So I am hopeful that while weare seeing some challenges,

while we're seeing thingshappening in America

that break our hearts every day,

that God will find a wayto reveal a healing process

that really will bring us together

and help us make more progresstowards loving each other,

and seeking after God againthan we've seen in decades.

- The counsel culture,as you mentioned, I mean,

it's out of control, the far left,

even out in your statewants to remove what?

George Washington and ThomasJefferson on Mount Rushmore?

I mean, what is your message

to the far left about all of this?

- Well, David, I don'tknow if you've heard

what we're doing,

but I am actually in the middleof a fundraising campaign.

While the rest of the countryis tearing down monuments,

we are gonna put four monuments statues

on our Capitol dome of the four men

that are on Mount Rushmore to recognize

that these were incredibleleaders for our country,

they're flawed individuals for sure,

but they met the challenges and led,

and based their decisionson God's word and direction.

And we are going to, in South Dakota,

while the rest of the countryis tearing down monuments,

we're going to be putting them up.

And I am asking people tohelp support us in doing that

by donating to help get those four statues

in place on our Capitoldome on the exterior side.

- You didn't shut down thestate, many other governors have,

you've been a vocal critic

of some of these lockdown measures,

what's your view regarding the balance

between government interventionregarding public safety

and constitutional rights?

- Well, when we heardthis virus was coming,

I certainly consultedwith my health officials.

I brought in my epidemiologists,

my department of health secretary

with my big healthcaresystems and their experts,

but I also consulted withmy constitutional lawyers.

I also brought in my general counsel,

I asked them what myauthorities were as governor,

what I had the authorityto do and not to do,

and then I based my decisions on that.

I know that when you have aleader overstep their authority

in a time of crisis,

that's really when you lose this country.

And I didn't wanna beguilty of doing that.

So I never issued a shelter in place,

I never closed a business,

I didn't even definean essential business,

what would be essentialand what wouldn't be,

because I don't have theauthority to do that.

And the interesting thing is David,

is that I talked withgovernors on conference calls

all over this country about that,

and they had some of thesame information that I had,

yet made completely different decisions.

I was very honest with thepeople of South Dakota.

I said, "I'm gonna giveyou all the information

"that I have on how we can slow down

"the spread of this virus.

"I'm gonna be truthful with you,

"and I'm gonna trust you.

"I'm gonna give you the flexibility

"that you need to protectyour family's health,

"but also to keep a roof over your head,

"and food on the table."

And they in turn trustedme and we've done better

than virtually any otherstate in the nation.

- So that's interesting you mentioned

that about other governorshave that same information.

Is there a suggestion in there?

An implication that,

and you're not gonna speakfor those other governors,

but that this might'vebeen political to a degree

in some of these Democrat-run states?

- Oh, definitely it is today.

At the beginning of this crisis,

back in March and April,

I don't think it was reallypolitically motivated

because these same Democrat governors

that are on TV, tearingapart the president today,

months ago were singing his praises.

I sat on conference callswhere they were thanking him

for all he was doing to help them

to respond to their people.

What I am saying though,

is that what I heard on thoseconference calls was fear.

I was shocked and amazed byhow fear controlled people,

and how emotional that they were.

And to me,

it indicated that in thiscountry we've lost faith.

And the steadfast promiseof God's faithfulness

in our life every dayhas real consequences

and if you don't have that in your life,

then your emotions andfear can control you

and make you not have thediscernment and the wisdom

that you need in a time of crisis.

- I do wanna ask youabout churches in COVID,

do you believe people of faith

are under attack around the country?

From, there a lot of over-the-top policies

by liberal government officials,

what we're seeing in California.

I mean, is somethingnefarious going on here?

- Absolutely, absolutely it is.

Yeah, they are attackingour religious freedoms.

And so we need to use everytool that we have to make sure

that we still have theability to practice our faith

and to gather as we see fit,

and we have directly seenin many of these states

where they have allowed other gatherings,

yet restricted thosewho want to go to church

and worship together.

And so not only should we be bold

and outspoken about defending that right,

but we should use every tool that we have,

whether it's legal challenges,

which we've seen some churches take on,

but to make sure that it is respected

so that we don't losethe ability to do that.