From May in USA Today:
For nearly two weeks now, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has doubled, even tripled, down on the story she shares in her upcoming book about shooting and killing her 14-month-old Cricket after she said the puppy killed a neighbor’s chickens and seemed dangerous to her kids.
The governor immediately faced backlash and harsh criticism from Republicans and Democrats and chose not to ignore, retract or apologize. Noem has instead talked about it repeatedly, publicly, for days.
The fact that this story was ever mentioned and then struck a nerve demonstrates what people think about candidates like Noem and the type of news they consume.
Surprise! Americans love dogs. This isn’t partisan or gender-specific or anything. Turns out, Americans have specific feedback reserved for a person who admittedly brutalizes a dog. Few people can cross this ground without serious pushback or consequences. Noem tested this, then stood defiant.
In her new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem says she “hated” Cricket and put him down when she realized the dog was “untrainable,” “dangerous” and a “less than worthless” hunting dog.
Apparently, Noem’s team advised her to leave the dog murder out of her first book, but she didn’t leave it out of this one. Now, asked about it on several news shows, Noem continues to fire back, overexplaining why she killed the dog, reminding audiences that she felt he was dangerous to her children and that she’s a tough, protective parent.
