Gov. Kristi Noem whips out flamethrower in Instagram photo

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem generated some buzz on social media when she posted a photo of herself holding a flamethrower with a caption asking, "Is it too late to add something to my Christmas list"?

"Noem 2024. She'll torch the competition," quipped one Twitter user.

Noem, a Republican, is already generating 2024 buzz and responded coyly when asked about if she would run for president while speaking at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit this past weekend.

"I'm not going to answer that question," she said with a laugh. 

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Noem has built up a national profile after standing behind her decision not to enact a statewide mask mandate despite calls from medical experts to do so amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"There are many states that do have mask mandates in place and some that do not, but I look at their rate of spread and the fact is, is that cases are increasing in many of those states as well," Noem said at a November press conference.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem headlines an event at President Trump's New Hampshire campaign headquarters, on Oct. 15, 2020 in Manchester, N.H.

Noem traveled to Georgia in December to campaign for Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., ahead of the state's tight runoff elections on Jan. 5.

Georgia is serving as an early testing ground for potential 2024 GOP White House hopefuls. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have all made appearances.

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A spokesperson for Noem told Fox News that the flamethrower is not hers.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report.