| Kristi Noem with her dog |
A female Republican politician, mentioned as the running mate for former U.S. President Donald Trump, has publicly admitted to shooting and killing a puppy and a goat, causing a stir in American politics.
The Guardian reported on the 26th local time that it had obtained excerpts from Kristi Noem’s memoir No Going Back, which is set to be published next month. Noem is the Governor of South Dakota and one of the potential running mates for former President Trump.
In the book, Governor Noem admits to shooting her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket, in a gravel pit due to its excessive aggression. She had hoped Cricket would grow into a well-trained hunting dog, but it ruined hunts by chasing birds, attacking chickens in a nearby house, and even trying to bite Governor Noem herself.
Governor Noem wrote, “Cricket behaved like a trained assassin… I disliked that dog. It was dangerous to everyone I encountered and had no value as a hunting dog.” She added that it was not a pleasant thing, but she had to decide to kill Cricket. The Guardian interpreted this as an attempt to emphasize her decisiveness. Governor Noem also revealed that she shot and killed a goat she was raising because it smelled bad and followed her children around, just like the dog.
This revelation has drawn fierce criticism from the American political world. According to the Washington Post, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement that it was “chilling and shocking. If you want elected officials who do not brag about cruelly killing pets, vote for the Democrats.”
The election campaign of President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election in the U.S. election in November, quickly responded. On the 27th, the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign posted pictures on X (formerly Twitter) of President Biden walking “Commander,” a shepherd breed, at the White House and Vice President Harris holding a dog.
Governor Noem repeatedly explained that killing the dog was an inevitable choice. She wrote on X, “We love animals, but these tough decisions always happen on the farm… Sadly, just a few weeks ago, we had to euthanize three horses that had been with our family for 25 years.”
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