President-elect Donald Trump will reportedly nominate South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) as Secretary of Homeland Security, and critics sent him straight to the doghouse.
Noem, a staunch ally of the newly elected president, would previously be among Trump’s vice presidential candidates. However, she seemed to hurt her chances when she mentioned in her memoir ‘No Going Back’ that she had once shot and killed one of her dogs in a gravel pit.
Noem wrote in the book that the dog, Cricket – a 14-month-old wire-haired pointer – was “less than worthless” and “untrainable.” (Also mention shot a goat which she described as ‘filthy and vile’, and which she said smelled ‘rancid’.)
Faced with the backlash to the Cricket story, Noem’s response was to double down and lean in.
Noem’s book also contained dubious claims about world leaders she claimed to have met while she was a U.S. representative.
She claimed she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jon Un, which a former Capitol Hill staffer said was “nonsense.” She also said she had canceled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, whose office denied the story.
The governor has been banned from entering 20% of her state after all nine native tribes in South Dakota barred her in response to her insulting claims about their people.
Noem will need to be confirmed by the Senate if Trump nominates her for the Department of Homeland Security position.
Social media users expressed concern for America’s dogs – and people.