Kristi Noem, a contender to become Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate, has stirred controversy after she said that she killed a family dog and a goat.
Noem, who is also the governor of South Dakota, said in her upcoming memoir that she killed an "untrainable" dog called Cricket on her family farm.
She said that the 14-month-old dog behaved like a "trained assassin," and was "dangerous to anyone she came in contact with."
In her memoir, excerpts of which were first published by The Guardian on Friday, Noem also said that she "hated" the dog, which ruined a hunt and attacked chickens owned by a local family.
"I realized I had to put her down," she wrote, adding that she got her gun and then led Cricket to a gravel pit.
Noem also said that her family owned a male goat that was "nasty and mean" because it had not been castrated.
The goat smelled "disgusting, musky, rancid" and "loved to chase" Noem's children, knocking them down and ruining their clothes.
She wrote that she decided to kill the goat the same way she had just killed her dog.
Reacting to the excerpts, Joe Biden's Democratic Party called them "horrifying" and "disturbing" and tried to make a 2024 election argument about the shooting of the animals.
"If you want elected officials who don't brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners - and vote Democrat," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement, giving voice to the dogs.
PETA Slams Kristi Noem
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) decried Kristi Noem's decision to kill the dog and said that she fails to understand the vital political concepts of education
Colleen O'Brien, senior director at PETA, said, "Most Americans love their dogs, and we suspect that they'll consider Gov. Noem a psychotic loony for letting this rambunctious puppy loose on chickens and then punishing her by deciding to personally blow her brains out rather than attempting to train her or find a more responsible guardian who could provide her with a proper home."
"Noem obviously fails to understand the vital political concepts of education, cooperation, compromise, and compassion," she said in an official statement.
Kristi Noem Defends Herself
Kristi Noem, however, defended herself against the attacks over her account of shooting her dog.
Taking to her official X account, she said, "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years."
We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) April 26, 2024
If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that'll have the media gasping,… pic.twitter.com/bKhpUkchHV
Her book - No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward - will be published in the US on May 7.
According to reports, she is on a list of candidates being considered by Donald Trump to be his vice presidential running mate.
Trump faces a general election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden on November 5.
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