Watch: Kristi Noem Responds to Critics; Calls Outrage 'Fake News'
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem fired back at the media and defended her decision to shoot a dog she said was dangerous decades ago on a rural property.
The revelation she shot and killed the animal has made headlines and has seen Noem dragged by animal lovers on both sides of the aisle.
She told Fox News on May 1 that the “fake news” media has latched onto the story to portray her in a negative light.
Noem explained in her recent book “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward” how she decided to shoot a 14-month wirehaired pointer named Cricket two decades ago.
Noem explained the dog had been given to her after it had been deemed too aggressive by its previous owners.
As she trained it to help her hunt pheasant, she said the dog attacked her and some of her animals, so she made a decision to put it down.
On the May 1 “Hannity,” Noem defended shooting Cricket and ripped the media.
The governor said the story had been blown out of proportion.
Noem: Well, you know, how the fake news works. They leave out some or most of the facts.. I hope people buy the book and they find out the truth of the story because the truth is that this was a working dog and it was not a puppy, pic.twitter.com/RGq2seJ6j6
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 2, 2024
When asked about the backlash by Fox News host Sean Hannity, Noem replied, “Well, Sean, you know how the fake news works.”
“They leave out some or most of the facts of a story, they put the worst spin on it, and that’s what’s happened in this case,” she said. “I hope people really do buy this book and they find out the truth of this story, because the truth of this story is that this was a working dog, and it was not a puppy.”
“It was a dog that was extremely dangerous. It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive,” Noem added.
“We were her second chance and the day she was put down was the day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors. She attacked me, and it was a hard decision.”
She said it was an example of some of the “tough, challenging decisions I’ve had to make” during her life.
On the morning of May 2, Noem posted a clip from her interview with Hannity on social media platform X and said she still has no regrets about shooting the dog.
“Don’t believe the #fakenews media’s twisted spin,” she posted. “I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal who had a history of attacking people & killing livestock.”
She concluded, “I chose my kids.”
Don’t believe the #fakenews media’s twisted spin. I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal who had a history of attacking people & killing livestock.
I chose my kids. pic.twitter.com/ZTtN7MpQvf
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) May 2, 2024
“No Going Back” is currently available for purchase at most locations.
A copy of the book was provided to the U.K.’s Guardian. In her own words, Noem wrote of Cricket that she “hated” the dog, which she called “dangerous” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
Noem recalled she decided the dog needed to be put down and she described shooting Cricket as “not a pleasant job” but it was one that “had to be done.”
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