Trump insider says Noem destroyed her running mate chances with dog killing story

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's tale of killing her family dog because it annoyed her has, unsurprisingly, not ingratiated her to the general public. And it may have cost her a spot as Donald Trump's running mate.

In her upcoming book, No Going Back, the Republican governor details how she shot her 14-month-old German wirehaired pointer named Cricket because it was poorly behaved. She then disposed of the dog in a nearby gravel pit.

In a social media post, Ms Noem said she had hoped the story would show that she is willing to make hard decisions and to show her authenticity beyond her public persona. It mostly made everyone mad.

Including, reportedly, Mr Trump. "She's DOA," an ally of Mr Trump told The Hill.

They added that it's "not good" if you have to respond multiple times to a story, and it's likely this will not be the last time Ms Noem has to field answers about shooting her puppy.

On nearly every social media post she has made since the story broke, commenters have referred to her killing her dog.

“She’s basically taken herself out of the running to be VP,” a Republican strategist told The Hill.

The strategist reportedly was baffled as to why Ms Noem thought it would be appropriate to leave that story in her book. She even acknowledges in her book that including the story likely wasn't a tactical move.

“I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn’t tell the story here,” she wrote, according to The Guardian.

She defended herself on social media, saying that her book is filled with "honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned".

“What I learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota through COVID, is people are looking for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from tough challenges,” she wrote.

If only she'd seen John Wick before publishing, she might have also learned that people do not respond well to dog killers.

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, a Democrat, posted a photo of himself feeding his dog on X/Twitter along with the caption "Post a picture of your dog that doesn't involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. I'll start."

Ms Noem also took hits from conservatives. Alyssa Farah Griffin, who formerly worked as Mr Trump's spokesperson, shared on X/Twitter that the dog killing story "horrified" her.

“I’m a dog lover and I am honestly horrified by the Kristi Noem excerpt. I wish I hadn’t even read it. A 14-month old dog is still a puppy and can be trained,” she wrote. “A large part of bad behavior in dogs is not having proper training from the humans responsible for them.”

While it's unclear if Mr Trump personally cares much about the way people treat dogs — he is the only modern president to not have a pet and frequently uses "dog" as a derogative — what he does not tolerate is being overshadowed, for any reason.

The Republican strategist who spoke to The Hill said Mr Trump wants a running mate who is "no drama" and can serve as an anchor while he takes the spotlight.

“The whole deal is, you are looking for a stable No. 2 who could conceivably go on to be the party standard-bearer after four years," the strategist reportedly said.