Trump shouldn’t pick puppy killer Kristi Noem as running mate
Killing puppies typically isn’t something politicians boast about, but this week we found out that Trump VP hopeful Kristi Noem shot dead her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, Cricket, after the dog attacked a neighbor’s chickens and bit her. In a bloodthirsty rage, the Governor of South Dakota then proceeded to shoot dead a nasty and mean goat she owned, according to leaked excerpts from her forthcoming memoir.
Why on earth would she do such a thing and boast about it?
Noem says the incident occured on the way home from a hunting trip, when Cricket jumped out of her truck as she spoke to a family who owned the chickens.
It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done, she wrote, according to The Guardian, which obtained an advance copy of the book. And after it was over, I realised another unpleasant job needed to be done. The other unpleasant job was killing her disgusting goat, whom she says loved to chase her children.
I have a hunting dog, Josh, who is almost the exact same age as Cricket, and I wouldn’t shoot him for all the money in the world. If I did, I don’t think my wife or sons would ever speak to me again, and rightfully so. Dogs are such loveable and faithful companions. The adage that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners, is correct 99 per cent of the time, and Ms. Noem is as ignorant as they come.
The governor says that she related the gruesome tale to illustrate her willingness to do anything difficult, messy and ugly. Really? Even if she believed the dog had to be put down, why would she do the deed herself? She should have consulted her breeder, a vet, or any number of rescues, such as the National German Wirehaired Pointer Rescue, which said in a Facebook post that Noem’s horrific decision showed a lack of judgement, ignorance and cruelty. Indeed.
South Dakota Democratic Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba said Noem released the story because some witnesses in the state already knew that she killed the dog in a fit of anger. He speculated that she wanted to put her own spin on the sordid tale before it came out as Trump’s team vetted her for the VP post.
Noem apologists might argue that her behavior was more responsible than President Biden, whose dog, Commander, bit Secret Service agents some 24 times in one year before the dog was exiled. Biden’s other German shepherd, Major, was removed from the White House in 2021 after biting a security guard and a National Park Service employee who took him for a walk. Biden’s conduct was irresponsible and unacceptable, but there’s something much more chilling and diabolical about shooting one’s own puppy.
Trump is losing the female vote by 16 points and desperately needs to improve his standing with suburban soccer moms. As long as Noem embraces Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 election, I suspect he’d be willing to ignore her puppy and goat killing tendencies if he thought she could help him win, which now seems highly unlikely.
I’ve seen no focus group data on the matter, but somehow I don’t think suburban moms will swoon for a ticket of grab ’em by the you know what Trump and a puppy killer.
