WATCH: South Dakota governor slams Fauci at GOP convention

Noem cut down Fauci's god-like status, touting South Dakota's strong COVID-19 pandemic response combined with its limited lockdowns that helped keep businesses open and residents employed statewide.

"Dr. Fauci told me that I would need 10,000 hospital beds on my worst day. On our very worst day, we had 600 people in the hospital. I don't know if you've heard this before, but Dr. Fauci is wrong a lot," the governor told the cheering crowd. Noem's remarks came during the decline of the once-revered Fauci as more is revealed about America's early pandemic response from national health officials.

"South Dakota has the least amount of hours lost by employees of any other state in the entire nation. The least amount of wages lost by anybody of any other state in the entire nation. We have the lowest amount of businesses that closed during the pandemic out of any other state in the country," Noem said. "We never once closed a single business the entire time. In fact, I didn't even define what an essential business was in our state because I don't believe governors have the authority to tell you that your business isn't essential."

"I stood up in front of my people and I said I'm going to trust you," was the approach Noem said she took to handle the pandemic.

Noem went on talk about "personal responsibility" and personal choice when it came to public health measures., emphasizing the small government approach to large-scale public health crises.

"I believe that when leaders overstep their authority especially in times of crisis, that's when we break this country," she said. Noem has been a rising star in the Republican Party and now ranks among the top four choices of Republicans for president. She sits behind former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former U.S. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, although Noem has stated that she does not intent to run for president in 2024.