Trump VP contender Kristi Noem defends canine killing amid ridicule

Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Sunday tried to spin a controversial anecdote about killing her pet, revealed in her upcoming memoir, right into a case for her political deftness as she vies to change into Donald Trump’s vice presidential choose.

A Friday report from The Guardian described snippets of her memoir about her selections to kill numerous household cattle, together with a 14-month-old pet named Cricket and an unnamed goat.

“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch,” Noem wrote in an X post on Sunday. “Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.”

Noem has spent the weekend coping with ridicule from each Democrats and Republicans since these anecdotes turned public.

In each cases, she has stood by her choice to place down the animals, saying that Cricket had an “aggressive personality” and that the goat was “nasty and mean,” based on The Guardian report.

Noem’s Sunday protection comes as a last-ditch effort to quell the flurry of doubts that the state of affairs has stirred as she competes for Trump’s VP nomination in opposition to contenders like North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C. and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

Over the previous a number of days, individuals throughout the political spectrum have taken to social media to touch upon the controversy.

Proper-wing media character Laura Loomer stated this anecdote can be a loss of life knell for Noem’s vice-presidential aspirations.

“She can’t be VP now,” Loomer stated in a Friday post. “You can’t shoot your dog and then be VP.”

President Joe Biden’s reelection marketing campaign shortly seized the chance to concern a refined dig on Friday, posting footage of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris smiling with canines.

Florida Governor and former GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis posted a name to motion for individuals to undertake rescue canines.

Noem’s animal killing shouldn’t be the primary time she has raised eyebrows in Washington.

In March, the South Dakota governor posted an infomercial-style video for a Texas dentist showing to behave as a industrial testimony for the enterprise, regardless of holding public workplace.