Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem snapped at Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney who pushed her to disclose whether she is aspiring to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Varney pressed Noem, a suspected vice presidential hopeful, on whether she communicated with Trump about the scrutiny she is under revolving around the fatal shooting of her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket, in a gravel pit. The South Dakota governor adamantly refused to disclose details of her frequent communications with the former president.
“May I ask what he said to you about being vice president?” Varney asked.
“No, I never tell anybody my personal conversations,” Noem said.
“Did the dog story come up in your conversation with Trump?” he pressed.
“I talk to President Trump all the time,” she said.
“About the dog?” Varney asked.
“About a lot of things,” the governor said. “And right now, I tell you what, he is being persecuted in a political witch hunt in this court case. I’m proud of him on how tough he is and how well he is doing.”
“Did he bring up the dog?” he repeated. (RELATED: ‘Give It Back, Bitch!’: Whoopi Goldberg Nearly Loses It At Gov. Noem Over Shooting Her Dog)
“Enough, Stuart, this interview is ridiculous, what you’re doing right now. So you need to stop. It is, it is. Let’s talk about some real topics that Americans care about,” Noem said.
Noem revealed in her new book, “No Going Back,” how she killed Cricket — who Noem said she “hated” — due to the puppy’s alleged “aggressive personality” and inability to be a good hunting dog. The wirehair pointer allegedly attacked a flock of chickens belonging to her neighbor by “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.”
The governor defended her decision to kill the puppy due to South Dakota’s law allowing owners to put down pets who “attack and kill livestock.”
“The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down,” Noem wrote in an April 28 tweet. “Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did. Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor. As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”
I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back. The book is filled with many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 28, 2024
Republican governors stood in solidarity with Cricket by posting photographs of themselves with dogs to social media. Trump’s former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Noem “killed her chances” of ever becoming Trump’s running mate.
“To a person, everyone agrees she killed her chances, pun intended,” Spicer said, according to ABC News. “The bigger issue politically speaking is why anyone thought putting this in a book was a good idea — editors, agents, etc. — It’s like a job applicant saying unprompted they stole office furniture during an interview.”
In her book, Noem further called for President Joe Biden to kill his dog Commander, who has bitten over a dozen people, telling the dog to “say hello to Cricket.”
The governor also shot her goat in the same gravel pit for allegedly chasing down her children.