South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a potential contender to be Donald Trump's running mate, has been in the spotlight since last weekend for the wrong reasons.
A presale copy of her forthcoming book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward," was obtained by The Guardian, which unveiled a controversial anecdote where Noem tells the story of "Cricket," a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer she was training for pheasant hunting, which she ended up shooting to death after it killed some chickens. In addition, the governor described killing a goat in the same episode.
The governor tried to defend her actions yesterday with a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying: "I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book -- No Going Back," Noem continued: "The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned,"
I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 28, 2024
The backlash was notable, with both right- and left-wing public figures criticizing the governor, not only for the bizarre content of the stories, but also for portraying them publicly as examples of difficult decisions that needed to me made as if there were no other options.
Noem later went on to tell a story about shooting three horses a few weeks ago, adding that "tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm."
We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.
If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping,… pic.twitter.com/bKhpUkchHV
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 26, 2024
The feedback on Governor Noem's recent statements has been far from favorable. Many commentators and politicians view these stories as instances of poor judgment, particularly given her status as a V.P. contender in the current presidential race.
For instance, conservative commentator Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire criticized the move as "bad politics" during an appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM. Knowles attempted to offer a mild defense of Kristi Noem, but faced pushback from both Kelly and callers expressing their opinions on the matter.
WATCH:
Multiple accounts on social media also likened Noem to Cruella de Vil, the antagonist from Disney's film "101 Dalmatians."
While former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump has remained silent on the matter, sentiments expressed on social media overwhelmingly suggest that Governor Noem is likely to be removed from the V.P. shortlist due to the fallout from this story.
