Gov. Noem’s self-reported dog killing causes barks in response
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative — a growing number of elected officials and political groups all suddenly want you to know: they love their dogs.
The outpouring of animal love from political social media is all in response to South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem — who is believed to be in the running to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate — admitting in her forthcoming book that she killed a family dog and goat in a gravel pit with a gun on the same day.
According to an excerpt of the book obtained by the Guardian in advance of its publication next month, Noem, a farmer and rancher, said she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, because she was “untrainable” and aggressive.
Noem described how Cricket was overexcited on a hunt and wrote that she attacked another family’s chickens like “a trained assassin.” The governor also said Cricket had tried to bite her during the incident, later writing that she “hated that dog.”
After killing Cricket, Noem wrote that she then decided to kill a family goat that was “nasty and mean” and which “loved to chase” Noem’s children.
Democrats, including President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, had some fun with it — along with some spirited politicking.
The Democratic National Committee, responding to Noem’s book excerpt, issued a statement on behalf of “the dogs of the DNC, aka the Dogmocratic Party.”
“As DNC’s canine companions, we’ve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are — but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi L. Noem willingly chose to put in her new book,” the statement said.
“Our message is plain and simple: If you want elected officials who don’t brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners — and vote Democrat,” the statement added.