Trump responds to backlash over revelation that Noem shot and killed her dog: ‘We all have bad weeks’

Former President Donald Trump has praised South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was once seen as a potential running mate and is now facing backlash over revelations in her new book that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog.

Former President Donald Trump has praised South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was once seen as a potential running mate and is now facing backlash over revelations in her new book that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog. “She’s a terrific person,” Trump said in an interview with radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton that aired Tuesday. “She had a bad week. We all have bad weeks.” “Couple of rough stories, there’s no question about it,” the former president said. “Until this week, she was doing incredibly well. And she got hit hard and sometimes you do books and you have some guy writing a book and you maybe don’t read it as carefully, you know. You have ghost writers do it, they help you, and they, in this case, didn’t help too much.” Noem became the subject of intense criticism for disclosing in her new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward” that she shot and killed her dog, Cricket, because the puppy was “untrainable,” “dangerous” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.” Noem also said in the book that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander should suffer a similar fate to Cricket. Commander, Biden’s German shepherd, has bitten Secret Service personnel in 24 separate incidents at the White House and other locations, according to CNN’s reporting from February. The dog was removed from the White House in October. Controversy over the book also extended to other disclosures. For example, Noem falsely claimed that she once met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The book’s publisher announced earlier this month that the relevant passage would be removed in reprints.