‘Even You Wouldn’t Kill a Dog’: Donald Trump Shades Don Jr. With Kristi Noem Comparison
Donald Trump joked that even his son Don Jr., an avid hunter, wouldn’t stoop to Kristi Noem’s level and kill a dog, according to a reporter’s new book.
The South Dakota governor infamously revealed in a memoir last year that she shot her family’s 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, because of the animal’s “aggressive personality.”
The admission reportedly roiled Trump, with sources telling the Daily Beast at the time that it may have killed her chances to be the now-president-elect’s running mate.
Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power, a forthcoming book by Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt, details how the incident also served as joke fodder for Trump, according to the New York Post.
“That’s not good at all,” Trump told his son, per the Post, adding: “Even you wouldn’t kill a dog, and you kill everything.”
The younger Trump has made no secret of his love for hunting. He landed in hot water after ProPublica reported in 2019 that he killed a rare sheep on a hunting trip in Mongolia and received a permit to do so only retroactively.
While Cricket’s killing may have ended Noem’s chances of being Trump’s vice president, it didn’t stop the president-elect from naming her as his nominee for secretary of homeland security. She will face a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Despite the outcry to her proud admission of slaying a puppy, Noem has never backed down or admitted remorse. In her memoir, which was released last May, she even suggested that Joe Biden’s dog Commander should face the same fate.
“What would I do if I was president on the first day in office in 2025?” she writes, according to CNN. “Thanks for asking. I happen to have a list. The first thing I’d do is make sure Joe Biden’s dog was nowhere on the grounds (‘Commander, say hello to Cricket for me’).”
CNN reported that Commander, a German shepherd, bit Secret Service personnel no fewer than 24 times.