Kristi Noem Tried to Tell Dog Shooting Story in First Book But Was Talked Out of Including It: Report

AP Photo/Jack Dura, File

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem apparently really, really wanted to tell her dog shooting story — so much so that she floated it a second time around after aides kept it out of her first book, according to new reporting from Politico.

In an article titled, “Kristi Noem’s Team Told Her to Nix the Dog Story Two Years Ago,” columnist Michael Schaffer wrote that Noem wanted the story out there “because it showed a decisive person who was unwilling to be bound by namby-pamby niceties,” but “agents, editors and publicists at Hachette Book Group’s prestige Twelve imprint, and a ghostwriter — saw it as a bad-taste anecdote.”

Noem’s 2022 book, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, sold 100,000 copies and earned her a spot on The New York Times’ bestseller list, all without a shred of controversy.

Schaffer wrote:

This time around, Noem has a different team in place, as well as a different imprint, Hachette’s conservative-leaning Center Street. And the folks behind her new book, No Going Back, didn’t get in the way of sharing memories about gunning down an ill-trained puppy.

Uproar ensued when news broke of Noem writing about shooting and killing Cricket, her “less than worthless” puppy for being “aggressive” on a pheasant hunt and killing chickens. The anecdote was meant to show that Noem could do “difficult, messy and ugly” things when necessary, but was widely denounced and mocked, including by Saturday Night Live.

In a CBS News Face The Nation interview with Margaret Brennan over the weekend, Noem doubled down on her conviction that she did the right thing by suggesting that Joe Biden follow in her footsteps with his dog, Commander.

“Joe Biden’s dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people. So, how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do about it?” she said.

Noem had been touted as a possible vice presidential pick for Donald Trump, but Cricketgate may have squashed those hopes. Trump himself was said to be “disgusted” by the story.

Politico also reported on several factual errors in the book, including Noem’s claim that she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Noem has said certain inaccuracies were being corrected before the book is released this week.

Read the Politico article here.

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