Kristi Noem appeared furious during a recent media interview and avoided questions surrounding controversies, including her admission that she shot a healthy dog. The South Dakota Governor was previously considered a potential Donald Trump running mate, but embarrassing scandals appear to have derailed her chances, according to some analysts.
Noem discussed her new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” and appeared to acknowledge that related scandals had significantly impacted her image and political standing. In the book, Noem states that she once met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, but experts described the scenario as implausible and challenged its accuracy. The Governor has since removed the passage from the book and, in the interview, refused to address it.
When reviews of the book first surfaced, experts on North Korea immediately described her account as highly unlikely. North Korea expert Benjamin Young of Virginia Commonwealth University used the word “dubious” and wondered why a leader who refused to meet President Obama would find time to mingle with the Governor of South Dakota. “There’s no way,” he said.
The unlikely meeting with the dictator was not the only part of the book to cause a headache for Noem, and analysts suggest she has not recovered politically from her candid admission that she shot a 14-month-old dog.
Observers suggest that Noem’s aim in recounting the death of Cricket, a wirehair pointer, would portray as someone tough and willing to get her hands dirty if necessary, but it backfired. The Governor described the unfortunate dog as difficult to train and excitable. She shot the animal after a hunting trip when the dog was “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.”
Noem claims the dog later attacked a neighbor’s chickens and was aggressive toward her, so she took the animal’s life. On the same day, she also killed a goat.
