'Makes My Blood Boil': South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's Story About Shooting 'Worthless' Puppy Enrages Fox Pundits
Fox News pundits condemned South Caroline Gov. Kristi Noem for writing in her new book that she once shot and killed a puppy on her family farm.
April 29 2024, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is getting hit with a wave of backlash from the left and right after revealing in her new book that she once killed a puppy on her family farm, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Noem, a self-described "mom and rancher," recounted shooting the 14-month-old wirehair pointer named Cricket in her upcoming memoir, No Going Back.
She wrote that the female puppy had an "aggressive personality" while being trained for pheasant hunting, The Guardian first reported.
Noem wrote in her upcoming memoir that the female puppy had an "aggressive personality."
Fox News pundits criticized the governor for including the story in her book, condemning the act as both heartless and politically damaging.
Fox Business anchor Ash Webster asked network media analyst Joe Concha and former GOP Congressman Jason Chaffets about their reaction on Monday as he noted that "outrage" had begun to spread over Noem's anecdote.
“This story, Ashley, as a dog owner my whole life, it absolutely makes my blood boil,” Concha responded. “On two levels. One. How utterly heartless do you have to be to shoot a 14-month-old dog in the face?"
He argued that Noem could have handled the situation differently by putting the dog up for adoption.
Concha said if the puppy "wasn't doing its job on the farm" or was "attacking chicken or people," she "easily could have posted somewhere, 'I'm putting my dog up for adoption because maybe it's not working out here on the ranch,' and I can guarantee you many people would have raised their hand to take that dog in."
Kristi Noem was accused of glamorizing the 'puppy murder' as a way to appeal to Donald Trump.
"You don’t just go ahead and murder it," he said, adding that the decision to include the story in her book "destroyed any chance she had of being Donald Trump's vice president."
"There’s no going back from this," Concha said.
Webster agreed, saying "Amen," and that he was "a lifelong dog lover."
Chaffetz then commented that while he gave Noem an "A-plus for being honest" about the situation, he felt "she just destroyed her political career."
"I don’t think there’s anybody on any side of the aisle, any human being that thinks it’s acceptable to go to a gravel pit and shoot a dog in the face and kill it when it’s 14 months old," he asserted. "That’s. I mean, that’s just hideous."
He agreed with Concha's stance that "politically, there's no recovering from this."
Webster concluded the segment by saying: “What a horrible story. Bottom line, Jason."
Noem posted to X in defense of her past actions on Sunday, admitting that while she "can understand why some people are upset," she "followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor."
Noem took to X on Sunday to defend her past actions, saying that she acted according to the law when she shot the 14-month-old dog.
"The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down," she wrote. "Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did."
The governor said that "it wasn't easy," but added that "often the easy way isn't the right way."
"Whether running the ranch of in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle," Noem continued, "Even if it's hard and painful."
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She said that "people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don't shy away from tough challenges."
"My hope is anyone reading this book will have an understanding that I always work to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life," Noem wrote.
Her book is slated for release on May 7.
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