South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s gruesome account of how she killed her dog, her desire to be President Donald Trump’s running mate, may have killed something else as well.
In Trump’s orbit, Nomu’s decision to reveal in his upcoming memoir that he once shot his dog was seen as purely political self-immolation, the result of a series of “errors in judgment.” This is seen as a sign of President Trump’s “desperate attitude.” I don’t particularly like it,” said more than a half-dozen Republican officials who spoke to The Daily Beast on condition of anonymity to detail confidential conversations.
“Everyone around President Trump is talking about this,” the MAGA operative said.
“I’ve never seen a more public suicide than Jim Jones in Jonestown,” another Trumpworld source told The Daily Beast.
Noem has long been considered a rising star in Republican politics thanks to her combative and unabashed MAGA image. She regularly appears in news reports as one of the front-runners for President Trump’s 2024 vice presidential nomination.
But for now, even Republicans might agree that Noem is not only politically incorrect, but politically incompetent for deeply hurting bipartisan voters like pet lovers. do not have.
In a startling revelation in her new memoir, No Going Back, due out next month, Noem details the shocking end of her 14-month-old wire-haired pointer, Cricket.
Noem said she killed the dog, which lived on her family’s farm in South Dakota, because of its “aggressive personality” and lack of hunting skills. She also wrote that a cricket escaped from the truck and attacked a flock of chickens.[ing] They kill one chicken at a time by chewing it up in one bite, then dropping it to attack another chicken. ” This was the last straw.
“I hated that dog,” Noem wrote, adding that Cricket was simply “untrainable,” “worthless as a hunting dog,” and “dangerous to anyone who came into contact with him.” That’s when she says she realized, “I had to get her girlfriend off.”
But Noem did the dirty work herself, taking Cricket to the gravel pit and shooting the dog.
Donald Trump listens to Governor Kristi Noem’s speech at a rally in Ohio in March 2024.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
This graphic and shocking excerpt went down badly with many, including those in Trumpworld, and may have dashed any hopes that she would be President Trump’s running mate.
The Trumpworld source added that the chances of Nomu becoming Trump’s running mate were “previously slim” but “now they’re less than zero.”
“Vice presidents are chosen to solve problems and add real value. Proven gaffe machines are neither of those things,” a source close to the Trump campaign told The Daily Beast.
Not only that, the MAGA operative said, there is a good chance Noem will be appointed to the Cabinet. Her involvement in the Trump campaign may be limited going forward.
Trump operatives are “obsessed with dog ads that would run if she were involved with President Trump’s campaign,” the Trump operative said. “I mean, this is devastating. There’s nothing more popular in the political world than dogs, and yet she kills a dog and keeps talking about it… It’s incomprehensible and shows uncontrollable judgment.” ”
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Noem also did not respond to a request for comment.
In fact, amidst all the backlash, Noem has refused to apologize. In her subsequent post about X, she wrote that she “understands” why people would be upset, but that “difficult decisions like this happen all the time on farms.”
The governor also tried to spin the execution as an example of how she “doesn’t shy away from difficult challenges.”
“I’ve never shifted my responsibility to anyone else, whether it’s ranching or politics,” Noem told X. I followed the law and was a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor. ”
There was widespread and swift backlash in Trumpland over Noem’s bizarre and disturbing story, which is usually protected when Trump’s most trusted allies are hit by a bad news cycle after a self-inflicted act of self-inflicted harm. It is an exception to the general rule.
Take Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and President Trump’s ability to weather serious scandals, for example. Or the likes of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), forever bound to their episodes, at least within the friendly confines of Trumpworld. Let’s see how you could have avoided it. From Boebert’s infamous “Beetlejuice” anecdote to Greene’s remarks about “Jewish space lasers,” we’d like to forget.
But Noem may be in a league of her own.
Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and communications director at Trump’s State Department, said Noem may have carved out a new category for herself in the lexicon of political missteps.
“It’s hard for Kristi Noem to even call this an unforced error,” Bartlett said. “Because she intentionally told this story from her perspective, which she thought would give her an advantage.”
A pro-Trump strategist called Noem’s decision “one of the worst public relations responses I’ve ever seen.”
“America loves beer and baseball and dogs. It’s bipartisan,” the strategist said. “And that Donald Trump would think you’re tough just because you killed a dog? That’s the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen.”
The dog bombing also raises questions about who is advising Noem, or whether she is listening to sound political advice.
“They just don’t know how to deal with this,” another veteran Republican strategist said of Noem’s team. “Seeing it for myself and seeing it in the book, this was not a gaffe. It shows a series of bad decisions along the way.”
“What she wrote in the book is the most positive version of this story she could think of,” the strategist added. “Think about it that way.”
Noem’s main supporter in Trumpworld has long been Corey Levandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager in 2016. Several Republicans who spoke with The Daily Beast said Noem’s account of shooting the puppy was likely to push back against Levandowski, who said in Monday’s talk radio interview argued. Hampshire said Noem “remains in the top three” candidates for President Trump’s running mate.
Lewandowski did not respond to requests for comment.
Making matters worse for Noem, she actively maneuvered to vie for the vice presidential nomination, not only with Trump’s top officials but with other contenders for the No. 2 spot. Public scrutiny of her blunders has also increased.
“She kind of put herself in the vice president or bust bucket,” said the MAGA operative. “It’s a really bad situation.”
Ms. Bartlett said Ms. Noem may have been snared in a “misguided attempt” to project “some kind of Midwestern power.”
“Having a connection to rural America and showing strength and tough decisions may have been a real asset,” Bartlett said. “But shooting puppies is never like that.”
