Even Republicans criticize her. Trump’s vice presidential candidate under fire for killing a dog

The Governor of South Dakota and likely candidate for Donald Trump’s vice-president admits to having killed a dog. And she promises to reveal more “true, honest and politically incorrect stories that will make the press gasp”.

Kristi NoemGovernor of South Dakota and one of the most talked about names to be Donald Trump’s number 2 in the face-to-face race, is in hot water after the publication of a book in which she admits to having killed a bitch and a goat.

The incident, detailed in her memoir No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, recounts how Noem killed a 14-month-old wirehair pointer named Cricket and a goat in a single day during the season. of hunting.

The story, initially reported by The Guardian, drew severe criticism from several fronts, including conservative commentators, animal rights activists and former colleagues. Noem included the story in the book to show his willingness to do anything.”difficult, confusing and ugly” if it needs to be done.

The Governor reports that she took the dog pheasant hunting with older dogs, hoping to train her. But Cricket ruined the hunt, going “mad with excitement, chasing all the birds and having a lot of fun.”

Noem says she tried to control the dog with an electronic collar, but nothing worked. Then, on the way home after huntingwhen Noem stopped to talk to a local family, Cricket escaped and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabbing one chicken at a time, crushing it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.”

When Noem finally caught Cricket, she repeatedly apologized to the chickens’ owner and paid them compensation. Despite everything, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy”.

“I hated that bitch,” writes Noem, who believes the animal has proven to be “untrainable” and “dangerous to anyone.” “At that moment I realized I needed to put it down”, he points out.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House official, expressed her horror at the incident. “A 14-month-old dog is still a dog and can be trained. Anyone who harms an animal unnecessarily because it is inconvenient needs help,” she says.

Rachel Bade, Washington correspondent for Politico, questions Noem’s decision to brag about her achievement. “I don’t know who advised Kristi Noem that it was a good idea to brag about killing a 14-month-old puppy, but I bet this is going to be a big problem for her if she is chosen as VP”, he considers.

“You can recover from many things in politics, but not from killing a dog. Good luck with your choice for VP,” declared conservative commentator Meghan McCain on Twitter.

The response from the Democratic side was swift and incisive, with Joe Biden’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee taking advantage of the controversy to paint a striking contrast between Democratic and Republican values regarding animal welfare.

A PETA also spoke out, labeling Noem’s actions “psychotic and lunatic,” reflecting a failure to understand essential political and human principles like education and compassion.

In response to criticism, Noem tried to justify her actions. “We love animals, but difficult decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Unfortunately, we had to put down three horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years,” she said, promising to reveal more “true, honest and politically incorrect that will make the press sigh.”