In her autobiography, the South Dakota governor boasts about how she shot her dog. And the Sioux Indians banned her from entering the reservations. The affairs could destroy her ambitions.
She stood in a gravel pit and shot her 14-month-old dog. It was a bad idea for Kristi Noem to retell this episode in her new book. Apparently she wanted to show how tough she can be. What remains with Americans, who often love their dogs almost as much as their children, is the impression of heartlessness and cruelty.
Noem, the governor of South Dakota, was long on Trump’s list of possible vice presidential candidates. So if Trump wins the November elections, she could soon have become one of the most powerful women in the world. But lately it has been particularly offensive to Americans. The dog story, as various media reported, can be found in her – second – autobiography, which is due to be published in May. The work is entitled “No Going Back. The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward».
The dog reminded her of a contract killer
The corresponding chapter is about how Noem wanted to train the 14-month-old dog Cricket to hunt pheasants. It failed. Cricket ruined a hunting trip, writes Noem, because she “went crazy with excitement, chasing after all the birds and having the time of her life.” Noem apparently tried in vain to control the dog with an electric collar. Cricket “grabbed one chicken after another on a family’s property, crushed it in one bite, and then dropped it to attack another.” She raged like a trained assassin, writes Noem. She hated the animal and therefore shot it in a gravel pit. In a similar way, shortly afterwards she hunted down a “bad, smelly and mean” goat that was always running after Noem’s children. Because she wasn’t dead after the first shot, the governor had to shoot a second time.
There was a storm of indignation, even among her fellow Republicans. But the 52-year-old Noem didn’t back down, she doubled down. The point of the description was to show that she was capable of doing difficult, chaotic and ugly things if they had to be done, she said.
She had already caused a stir about a week earlier. Several Sioux tribes in South Dakota decided on April 19 that they no longer had the right to enter their reservations. She had angered the Native Americans with derogatory, generalizing remarks. She claimed, without being able to substantiate the statement, that the Sioux were in cahoots with American drug cartels and that some tribal leaders personally benefited from the criminal activities. She also said that the indigenous people don’t care what happens to their children. The banishment from the four reservations means that the governor is now locked out of around 15 percent of her state. If she violates the ban, she can be taken into custody.
Her two-year-old granddaughter already has a rifle
A year ago, Noem caused red heads when she declared at an event organized by the gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA) that her two-year-old granddaughter Addie already owned a shotgun and a rifle. She would need both soon, she said ambiguously. She also has a little pony – so she is prepared for anything. The statement was even more provocative because a six-year-old had just shot his teacher in the state of Virginia.
Noem is a strong supporter of the right for everyone to bear arms. She also has a clear opinion on the abortion issue. In their opinion, abortion is not even an option if the pregnancy is the result of rape. “A tragic situation should not be perpetuated by another tragedy,” she says.
“No puppy murderer as a deputy”
Noem grew up on a farm. In 1994 her father died in an agricultural machinery accident. She left college at 23 and took over the farm and a hunting inn on the family ranch. Her first child was born in the same year.
After eight years in the House of Representatives, she became governor of South Dakota in 2019. She became nationally known during the Covid-19 pandemic when she refused to impose a mask requirement. South Dakota was considered the state with the fewest restrictions.
The mother of three made a name for herself as a member of parliament as a fiery defender of family values and traditional marriage, which she always explicitly defines as a “special, God-given connection between a man and a woman”. She is against the recognition of same-sex marriage. Media like Vanity Fair have been accusing her of having an extramarital relationship with former Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski for years, which she denies.
Noem has now apparently killed not only her dog, but also her chances of one day becoming vice president. Trump was disturbed by the story, someone from his team told the New York Post newspaper. “Trump isn’t necessarily a dog lover,” the person continued, “but he knows he can’t choose a female puppy killer as his deputy.”