South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem blasted the criminal trial former President Donald Trump is facing in New York City over an alleged attempt to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash on Sunday, Noem defended Trump, claiming “it’s a little ridiculous that they have waited years to bring these types of charges against” the former president.

“If they wanted to make these kinds of charges against him, they should have done it years ago, when this happened. To do it conveniently during a presidential election, when he’s campaigning to return to the White House, I think it proves that this is all politically motivated,” she said further.

“It’s the way that Democrats are fighting these days, it’s using the judicial system and activist judges to do so. My hope is that the people and the jury will do what is right and hear the evidence and see clearly that this is an unprecedented trial, but it’s unprecedented in how ridiculous it is,” she added.

Noem also spoke against the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s decision to bring former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who “has been proven to be a liar,” to testify against Trump in the case.

“Michael Cohen has lied before Congress multiple times. That’s their main witness. I would say that he certainly is not someone who can be trusted to do the right thing during this jury trial. They’re also using a woman’s testimony who signed a letter saying that this affair did not happen, that she has testified in the past that this never occurred,” she stated.

Noem later emphasized support for Trump’s presidential bid even if he is convicted in the trial.

“If my choice is between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, every single day of the week, yes, I will support Donald Trump. I have from the very beginning. He has been someone that I have supported since 2016 because I recognize that he didn’t think he was better than anyone else in this country…I’m going to do all I can to help him win,” she stated.

Noem’s remarks come a day before opening statements are scheduled to begin in Trump’s trial. As laid out by Judge Juan Merchan, Trump’s lawyers are to present opening statements on Monday morning before prosecutors start laying out their case against the former president. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and has also labeled his prosecution “politically motivated.”