Bloody revelation

Trump’s possible running mate shot her own dog

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

The Republican governor of the US state of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, is causing a stir with a book in which she describes how she shot her dog named "Cricket".

The British "Guardian" reported on Friday about the corresponding excerpt from the as yet unpublished work. In it, Noem explains that she had actually wanted to train "Cricket" for pheasant hunting. However, the 14-month-old dog was too impetuous and scared the game away.

Dog shot in gravel pit
She then snatched chickens on the property of a family in the neighborhood "like a trained contract killer" and snapped at Noem. She then shot the animal in a gravel pit.

With the anecdote in the book, which will be published in the USA next month, Noem wants to emphasize her willingness to do "difficult, messy and ugly" things as a politician if necessary, according to the report. She did a similar thing directly afterwards with a "nasty and mean" goat who always chased after her children.

Noem possible running mate for Trump?
In this year's presidential election campaign, Noem is being touted as a contender for the role of Republican ex-president Donald Trump's running mate, i.e. as a possible vice-candidate.

The 52-year-old already caused a stir with a TV interview after the end of abortion rights in the USA. "Every single life is precious," she replied to the question of whether an underage rape victim should have the child. "I don't believe that a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy."

"Difficult decisions"
After the Guardian article was published, Noem defended himself on the platform X, formerly Twitter. "We love animals, but on a farm, difficult decisions like this have to be made all the time," she wrote. "Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, we also had to kill three horses that had been with our family for 25 years."

The Democratic party leadership, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), issued a statement in the name of the Dogmocratic Party in response. Their message is: "If you want elected politicians who don't brag about how they brutally killed their pets as part of their book tour, listen to our owners: vote Democrat."