South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been hit by a community note on X, formerly Twitter, after her reasons for killing her dog, Cricket, allegedly “morphed” from “livestock threat” to “danger to her children”.
Noem, who has been tipped as a potential 2024 running mate for Donald Trump, describes shooting the farm dog dead in her forthcoming book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
Community notes are written by X users and attached to a tweet if there is enough support for them from others on the platform. In this case, the note picks up on the lack of any mention that the dog had put her children at risk in a short excerpt from her book published by The Guardian.
After publication of the extract, in which Noem also describes killing a goat for being smelly and chasing her children, she defends her actions in a tweet, saying: “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm.”
But the episode has sparked a backlash, including from some Republicans, and resulted in a sharp fall in the bookies’ odds on Noem being chosen as Trump’s prospective vice president.
On Thursday Noem again defended her actions on X commenting: “Don’t believe the #fakenews media’s twisted spin. I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal who had a history of attacking people & killing livestock. I chose my kids.”
Don’t believe the #fakenews media’s twisted spin. I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal who had a history of attacking people & killing livestock.
I chose my kids. pic.twitter.com/ZTtN7MpQvf
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) May 2, 2024
The governor also shared a segment from a Fox News interview with host Sean Hannity in which she claims Cricket was an “extremely dangerous” working dog.
She said: “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive, we were her second chance and the day she was put down was the day she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors. She attacked me and it was a hard decision.
“The reason its in this book is this book is filled with tough challenging decisions I’ve had to make throughout my life … this was a dangerous animal and I had a choice between keeping my small children and other people safe or a dangerous animal and I chose the safety of my children.”
However other X users were unconvinced by this and attached the community note which stated: “Noem’s description of why she shot Cricket has morphed. Her book describes the dog as untrainable for pheasant hunting + killed chickens.
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/GETTY
“When criticized Noem altered her story from Cricket snapped at her to did bit her, to biting history, to ‘danger to children.'”
The note also included links to articles from The Guardian, CNN, Forbes and FOX 5 KSWB-TV referencing these claims. Community notes “require agreement between contributors who have sometimes disagreed in their past ratings.”
According to the extract published by The Guardian Cricket was a “wirehair pointer, about 14 months old” which Noem wanted to train for pheasant hunting.
However, the dog allegedly ruined a hunt by going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” Then, on the way home, Noem says the dog attacked another family’s chickens “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.”
When she grabbed Cricket, Noem claimed the dog “whipped around to bite me.” In response Noem branded the dog “untrainable” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog,” adding “I hated that dog.”
Concluding it was “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” Noem shot Cricket in a gravel pit along with a “nasty and mean” goat which had taken to chasing her children.
Newsweek contacted Governor Noem via the contact form on her official website at 5 a.m. ET on Friday. This article will be updated if she decided to comment.
Noem defended her actions in a statement published on April 28 in which she insisted she “followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.”
The Republican added: “South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did. As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way isn’t the right way.”
The book, published by Center Street, is due out on May 7.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Elaine Hadley is a dedicated journalist covering the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. news. With a keen interest in politics and a commitment to uncovering the truth, she provides insightful commentary and in-depth analysis on domestic issues. When not reporting, Elaine enjoys exploring the diverse cultures and landscapes of the United States.
