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Former President Donald Trump greets South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem during a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, March 16, 2024.
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump praised South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as a “wonderful person” in an interview when asked about the backlash he received after his new book revealed that he shot and killed his 14-month-old dog.
“She had a bad week. We all have bad weeks,” Trump told radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton in an interview that aired Tuesday.
“There are some broad strokes, but there’s no question about that,” the former president said. “Until this week, she was doing incredibly well. And then she got hit hard, and sometimes you’re writing a book, and someone else is writing a book, and you’re probably Maybe I didn’t read it carefully. I’ll have a ghostwriter do it and help me out, but in this case it didn’t help much.”
In her new book, No Going Back: The Trus on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem describes her dog Cricket as “untrainable,” “dangerous,” and “not valuable as a hunting dog.” do not have”.
Noem said in her book that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander should suffer the same fate as Cricket. According to a CNN report from February, Biden’s German Shepherd, Commander, bit Secret Service agents in 24 separate incidents at the White House and elsewhere. The dog was removed from the White House in October.
The controversy surrounding the book extended to other disclosures as well. For example, Nom falsely claimed that he had met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The book’s publisher announced earlier this month that relevant passages would be removed from reprints.
CNN previously reported that Noem had already been dropped from President Trump’s running mate list long before the latest controversy began. Still, Noem is expected to attend a Trump fundraiser in Manhattan on Tuesday, along with others said to be being considered as running mates. Trump’s praise comes amid heightened tensions between Noem and tribal leaders in South Dakota over his previous comments about indigenous communities.
After President Trump’s interview aired, Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement: “The Biden campaign proudly opposes puppy killing and does not believe that people who kill puppies are ‘terrible.’ ” he said.
This article and heading have been updated.
CNN’s Kit Maher and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
