It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative \u2014 a growing number of elected officials and political groups all suddenly want you to know: they love their dogs.<\/p>\n
The outpouring of animal love from political social media is all in response to South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) \u2014 who is believed to be in the running to be Donald Trump\u2019s running mate \u2014 admitting in her forthcoming book that she killed a family dog and goat in a gravel pit with a gun on the same day.<\/p>\n
According to an excerpt of the book obtained by the Guardian in advance of its publication next month, Noem, a farmer and rancher, said she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, because she was \u201cuntrainable\u201d and aggressive.<\/p>\n
Noem described how Cricket was overexcited on a hunt and wrote that she attacked another family\u2019s chickens like \u201ca trained assassin.\u201d The governor also said Cricket had tried to bite her during the incident, later writing that she \u201chated that dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
After killing Cricket, Noem wrote that she then decided to kill a family goat that was \u201cnasty and mean\u201d and which \u201cloved to chase\u201d Noem\u2019s children.<\/p>\n
Democrats, including President Biden\u2019s reelection campaign, had some fun with it \u2014 along with some spirited politicking.<\/p>\n
The Democratic National Committee, responding to Noem\u2019s book excerpt, issued a statement on behalf of \u201cthe dogs of the DNC, aka the Dogmocratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs DNC\u2019s canine companions, we\u2019ve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are \u2014 but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi L. Noem willingly chose to put in her new book,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur message is plain and simple: If you want elected officials who don\u2019t brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners \u2014 and vote Democrat,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
After Noem\u2019s excerpt went public, the Biden campaign\u2019s rapid response team shared pictures on X of Vice President Harris holding a puppy and President Biden walking his German shepherd, Commander, at the White House (although Commander was removed from the White House last year after he bit several staffers and Secret Service officers).<\/p>\n
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) shared a photo on X of him feeding his dog a treat, writing the caption, \u201cPost a picture with your dog that doesn\u2019t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I\u2019ll start.\u201d The post garnered responses from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) with their furry companions.<\/p>\n
Post a picture with your dog that doesn\u2019t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I\u2019ll start. https:\/\/t.co\/VA3O0lcHtJ pic.twitter.com\/gICODi9YD5<\/p>\n
\u2014 Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 26, 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Lincoln Project, a political organization founded by moderate conservatives who oppose Trump, published a tongue-in-cheek video that seemed to nod at Sarah McLachlan\u2019s earworm ads for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have options,\u201d a narrator says in the video. \u201cShooting your dog in the face should not be one of them. And if you do happen to shoot your dog in the face, please don\u2019t write about it in your autobiography.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization also subsequently said that Trump and Noem\u2019s \u201cdisregard for animals reflects their disregard for everything else. Cruelty is the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other Republicans who do not support Trump, including former Trump aides Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sarah Matthews, as well as Meghan McCain, similarly expressed shock over Noem\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
And Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and Trump ally, wrote on X, \u201cYou can\u2019t shoot your dog and then be VP.\u201d<\/p>\n
Post a picture with your dog that doesn\u2019t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. https:\/\/t.co\/TJzQXsguNE pic.twitter.com\/uJd0DdwI0Y<\/p>\n
\u2014 Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 27, 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Noem\u2019s actions have been blasted by animal advocacy organizations. Colleen O\u2019Brien, senior vice president of media relations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a statement that the excerpt reveals the governor \u201cobviously fails to understand the vital political concepts of education, cooperation, compromise, and compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund \u2014 the lobbying arm of the Humane Society of the United States \u2014 said in a statement that \u201cthere is no redeeming takeaway from a story about the ending of these animals\u2019 lives, including a juvenile dog who was the family pet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization noted that the 86 million American homes \u201chave at least one beloved pet and value our relationship with them. There are so many effective and humane ways to deal with canine behavioral issues that don\u2019t resort to such means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noem appeared to verify the details of the excerpt published by the Guardian, writing on X Friday morning, \u201cWe love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor, in her post, then urged her followers to preorder \u201cNo Going Back,\u201d her forthcoming book, \u201cif you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that\u2019ll have the media gasping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy B Wang contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative \u2014 a growing number of elected officials and political groups all suddenly want you to know: they love their dogs. The outpouring of animal love from political social media is all in response to South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) \u2014 who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}