South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) defended herself on Monday after facing widespread criticism for sharing a story of shooting and killing her young hunting dog Noem has defended the decision to kill her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, in a conversation with Elizabeth Vargas. She explained in the book that the dog was badly behaved. and an improbable story in which she claims to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in her new book.
Noem stood by her choice to kill the 14-month-old dog, Cricket, in an interview with Elizabeth Vargas. She explained in the book that the dog was badly behaved. NewsNation She defended the action as “not a pleasant task” but necessary. She described the dog as “extremely dangerous.
“If you read the book, you will see this was something that happened 20 years ago, and this book is filled with vulnerable stories, painful decisions that I’ve had,” she said.
“And what I want people to know when they read that story is to understand that this has been a story that my political opponents have tried to use against me for years; I wanted them to know the truth,” she continued. “I wanted them to hear it in my words that listen, most politicians would run from the truth. And they would run from making hard decisions. I don’t do either of those.”
Throughout, she has maintained her choice was “not a pleasant task” but said it “had to be done.” She called the dog “extremely dangerous.” Noem, considered among the finalists to be former President Trump’s running mate, has been embroiled in controversy since copies of her book, “No Going Back,” became public.
Noem also took responsibility for including a story about meeting Kim while traveling internationally. Kim had never met an American leader before Trump in 2018, and there is no evidence that the pair ever met. Noem said the story was not fabricated, but instead merely included by mistake.
“I’ve traveled for years; I’ve been involved in policy for almost 30 years. And so I’ve gone all across the world, I’ve met with world leaders,” she said. “When it was brought to my attention … I asked the publisher if they would remove the name, and they did.”
She continued, “I took responsibility for it. The buck stops with me. This anecdote, I should not have put in the book. And I asked to have it taken out, and it is.”
Her publisher, Center Street, said Sunday that the anecdote will be removed before the book’s f