South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) is drawing ire after revealing she killed a Puppy after she deemed it untrainable.
The Guardian obtained a copy of Noemâs memoir â âNo Going Back: The Truth on Whatâs Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forwardâ â which will be published in May.
âCricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old,â Noem wrote. She said the female dog had an âaggressive personality.â
She wanted to train Cricket to hunt pheasants, but that failed. When Cricket killed a friendâs chickens she knew something had to be done. Cricket needed to be put down.
âIt was not a pleasant job,â Noem wrote, âbut it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done.â
Thatâs when she wrote about killing a goat she referred to as ânasty and mean.â
Noemâs revelations put her on the defensive Sunday with a post on X, formerly Twitter.
âI can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch,â Noem wrote. âWhether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if itâs hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.â
Noem is one of many Republicans vying to be former President Donald Trumpâs choice for vice president.
Other contenders are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C), and Rep. Elise Stefanik, (R-N.Y.), per CNBC.
The moment did not pass without photos posted of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with dogs.
Laura Loomer, a right-wing media personality, denounced Noem and said she lost her chance to be vice president.
âShe canât be VP now,â Loomer said on X. âYou canât shoot your dog and then be VP.â
Many agreed with Loomer:
Others came to Noemâs defense:
