South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Faces Bipartisan Criticism For Killing Dog

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) stirred up controversy after she revealed in her upcoming book that she euthanized her young dog, Cricket, that she claims was untrainable and aggressive.

The Details: Noem writes in her book that Cricket had an “aggressive personality,” attacked a neighbor's chickens, and tried to bite her. After the incident, Noem decided the dog was “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and ultimately euthanized the dog herself. Noem defended her actions, saying that her book reflects her honesty with the public about her life, including the “hard and painful” lessons learned.

For Context: The Governor’s description of the event has drawn criticism from all sides of the political spectrum and jettisoned the rising GOP star into controversy. Noem has been seen as a possible running mate for former President Donald Trump. This controversy has led to questions about her future in politics.

How The Media Covered It: The Hill (Center bias) reported on the widespread criticism, mentioning Hillary Clinton’s social media retort to Noem and a DNC statement that calls the story “disturbing and horrifying.” The New York Post (Lean Right bias) reported that Noem has “no shot” at being Trump's VP pick following the dog-killing controversy. Anonymous sources close to Trump were cited, saying that Trump’s team was “bewildered” by Noem’s actions and “Trump isn’t a dog person necessarily,” but selecting a “puppy killer” for VP would not be a wise political move. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.