(BrightPress.org) – South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has presumably killed any chance of being picked as presidential running mate for presumptive 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump.
A story from a pre-leased copy of Noem’s book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward has startled politicians and strategists from both political parties. Noem’s story is of a rambunctious 14-month-old wire-haired pointer named Cricket. Noem deemed Cricket to be useless as a hunting dog, dangerous, and known to violently kill chickens from neighboring farms. Noem said she realized the dog had to be “put down” after it tried to bite her. She described shooting the dog after leading it to a gravel pit.
A source close to the Trump campaign said that Noem’s chances of becoming Trump’s running mate now are “less than zero.” The source continued to say the ads that would run if Noem were involved in the Trump campaign would be “devastating.”
Noem has posted about the story on X that she understands the story may be upsetting but is simply one of the “tough decisions” that happen when living on a farm. Noem appears to have released the story from a position of strength as it shows she will never “shy away from tough challenges.”
Many GOP strategists are claiming Noem is displaying a “string of bad judgment” by deliberately telling the story. Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist, said Noem’s story may have been a “misguided attempt” to connect with rural America by showing she has the strength to make tough decisions, but she went about it the worst way. A spokesperson for Trump said Trump understands he can’t “choose a puppy killer” as a running mate.
The book also describes Noem using a shotgun to kill a male goat because it was “smelly” and “unruly” and liked to chase her kids.
According to Noem, the decision to kill the dog shows she is a “responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.”
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