Several aspiring North American politicians started by releasing a memoir or autobiography before taking the intended leap. Some successfully: in 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama released an acclaimed essay that showcased his winning message of “hope”; In 1956, a young John F. Kennedy published the model for campaign books, with their author receiving a Pulitzer.
But for others the works did not help. In 2023, Republican governor Ron DeSantis – who at the time was seen as Donald Trump’s successor at the head of conservatives – released a forgettable biography, a reflection of how his campaign ended up crashing at the beginning of the year.
The Republican governor of the rural state of South Dakota, the ultraconservative Kristi Noem, became the most recent ‘victim’, after following the recipe and launching her informal candidacy to be Donald Trump’s choice for vice president. This is, of course, if he wins the presidential elections in November against Joe Biden (who also wrote a biography before his campaign in 2007).
Kristi Noem’s book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward”, published this month and whose details were released in April by The Guardian, will go down in the history of North American political biographies. But for very non-political reasons.
In the book, Noem tells – in detail – how she decided to kill her 14-month-old German wirehaired pointer, Cricketbecause the dog didn’t take orders, ruined a hunt and was “the image of pure happiness”.
Trying to summarize the macabre details with which Noem describes Cricket’s death becomes an arduous task, as the governor spends several pages insulting the animal, which, according to her, “had an aggressive personality”. In one incident, the dog “lost her mind with excitement, chasing the birds and having the time of her life.” “I hated that dog”he writes.
Noem reveals how, around 20 years ago, she killed Cricket after a hunt in which she turned out to be “poorly trained”, and how she then buried her in a pit, to later kill a goat that was “bad smelling” in the same way. , “disgusting”, “evil” and who “loved persecuting” the governor’s children. The objective of the report was to demonstrate the strength of character of the aspiring vice president, an image of the harsh reality of South Dakota and the need to do everything “difficult, dirty and ugly” to solve something.
But there is more. In another excerpt, he criticizes the current President, Joe Biden, for not ordering the slaughter of his own dog, Commander, a German shepherd who gained notoriety for biting secret service agents, guaranteeing that he would kill the dog if he reached the White House. “Commander, say hello to Cricket,” he said.
The controversy has already made the governor realize that there are several ways to alienate voters, and killing a dog that appeared to be happy is certainly one of them. The reactions to the book earned him several condemnations: on social media, in Congress, in the media, from non-governmental organizations and even from his political idol.
According to the magazine Rolling Stone, Donald Trump reportedly privately insulted the governor of South Dakota, for killing his dog and questioning her political attributes as a possible vice president. Publicly, the former President and Republican Party candidate to return to the White House admitted that Noem went through “a difficult few days”.
Interestingly, after finishing the story about the dog’s death, Kristi Noem herself ends with a fateful phrase: “If I were a better politician, I wouldn’t have told the story here.”
Pressure from criticism begins to tighten
Since the confession, the republican figure has tried to do his best to respond to the number of interviews requested, in which he has been questioned about Cricket’s canicide and possible animal abuse – and not, as he expected, to talk about his political positions.
Noem justified in several interviews that she killed Cricket because she posed a risk to her family. And, on the program “Face The Nation”, from CBS News, reiterated that he has a quarrel with Biden’s dog. “He attacked 24 agents. How many people have to be attacked and seriously injured before a decision is made about the dog and what to do with it?”, he asked, suggesting once again that the President should slaughter the animal.
However, in a recent interview with Fox Business – a channel known for its outspoken support for Republican politicians – Noem appeared to lose patience with the press. Last Tuesday, after the journalist insisted on asking her about her chances of being chosen by Trump to be his hypothetical vice president, the governor said that the interview was “ridiculous” and demanded that the subject be changed.
On the Democratic side, the criticism is not surprising, especially considering that the vast majority of animal rights associations oppose the Republican positions on many issues. But not even the conservatives held back from throwing barbs at the governor.
Nicole Malliotakis, a New York congresswoman known for taking the dog to the Capitol building, said the case does not favor Noem. “The worst part is that it was not an external attack. She volunteered that information,” she responded to Political. And Meghan McCain, a commentator and daughter of former Senator John McCain, https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1783982549045334039 (formerly Twitter) that “a lot can be recovered in politics, but not from killing a dog”.
“Good luck with that VP pick. [vice-presidente]madam”, he said.
Schrödinger’s meeting with Kim Jong-un
But there aren’t just shocking stories in Noem’s book. There are also false stories.
A few chapters later and we jump to the governor’s time as the only congresswoman from the state of South Dakota, a position she held between 2011 and 2019, before returning to her state from Washington DC. Noem writes that when she was a member of the House of Representatives Armed Services committee, she had the opportunity to “travel to several countries and meet world leaders.”
“I remember meeting the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no idea about my experience with petty tyrants (after all, I had been a catechist). Dealing with foreign leaders requires resilience, preparation and determination,” he recalls.
There is no evidence that the meeting took place. Both Congress and Pyongyang denied it. Noem made a trip to China in 2014 for the committee, but Kim Jong-un only left North Korea for the first time in 2018.
Once again asked about the contents of the story, after several media outlets had fact-checked the trip and the supposed meeting, Noem avoided answering, saying it was a “joke” and did not respond directly whether or not he had spoken to Kim Jong-un.
But the falsehood of the story seemed to have been admitted by the publisher itself and by Noem. Center Street Publishing, which specializes in publishing books on far-right and ultra-conservative ideology, confirmed, in https://twitter.com/centerstreet/status/1787238419124338865who “at the request of Governor Noem, will remove the passage about Kim Jong-un from her book, after reprinting the printed version and as soon as technically possible in the audio and ebook editions”.
And the politician clarified, to CBS News, that there was a lapse in some passages and some were edited, but refused that this meant a retraction.
Kim Jong-un is not the only leader to be placed – and possibly invented – in the governor’s travels. Kristi Noem also tells how she canceled a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, due to comments the French leader made about the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, but the Elysee denied that there was any invitation to the then congresswoman as part of any activity. diplomatic.
Tags: years Kristi Noem killed dog revealing autobiography ruined chance Trumps vice president
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