GET THE FACTS

     We've all heard the headlines about Kristi Noem, and, rightfully so, nearly all of them are negative. This particular string of trouble for Kristi Noem began on April 26th, 2024, when The Guardian published an article revealing that Kristi Noem had shot her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer as well as a family goat.

     Over 20 years ago, Noem claimed that Cricket was aggressive, killing a neighbor's chickens, and that she did the right thing under the law and morality by killing the puppy. The truth is more horrifying. For starters, Cricket was a puppy she had trained to kill birds, and she murdered Cricket for killing birds. She also called Cricket "useless" as a hunting dog. Poor behavior is usually the fault of the owner, not the dog, and, in this case, she was the one who allowed Cricket to escape and kill her neighbor's chickens. She claimed Cricket was aggressive and that she also had to think of the safety of her children, yet, in her own book, she recalled her children asking, "Where's Cricket?" when they returned home from school that day. It hardly seems like the children viewed Cricket as a threat.

     As some observers have pointed out, what she did to the family goat was likely even more disturbing. When she took Cricket to the gravel pit and shot her, it was not a somber decision she felt obligated to make. She was angry. Her uncle got into contact with her when the deed was done and described how some workers in the area overheard the gunshots and saw an enraged Noem, actually frightened by her demeanor. As it turned out, after killing Cricket, she decided she wasn't done yet, saw the goat in her line of sight, and then brought the goat to kill it as well. She wasn't being a responsible neighbor and mother: she wanted blood. That's how serial killers usually get their start, and the family goat wound up being Noem's next victim. She shot the goat once, wounding but not killing it. Out of bullets, she went back to her truck, grabbed another bullet, and then shot the goat dead after it had suffered for several minutes.

     Noem has tried to use this story that she spent several thousand words sharing willingly as a way to portray herself as a victim of left-wing media bias, comparing herself to Donald Trump. She left out the fact that South Dakota has dozens of animal shelters to claim that she had no other option, that any criticism was based on soft city slickers looking for an excuse to criticize the Rural America they don't understand. This wasn't the only bad part of her book, however. She falsely claimed that, last year, she was scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron when she cancelled the meeting due to what she considered "pro-Hamas" comments in the wake of the October 7th attack on Israel. The idea that the president of France would meet with the governor of South Dakota is preposterous, and French officials have confirmed that Noem was never even scheduled to meet Macron.

     An even more outlandish lie came when she claimed that, during her time in the House of Representatives, she had not only met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, but had "stared down little tyrants" before and that she was sure that he "underestimated" her. A congressional delegation meeting with the most brutal dictator of the 21st century would have made global headlines, making it very clear very quickly that no such meeting ever took place. Her ghost writers removed the portion of the book, which they referred to as an "error," but Noem has refused to admit that she lied. There's no confusing Kim Jong Un with any other world leader. She didn't mix up the presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The man is almost universally known and reviled in the West, and she hoped that this fictitious story would boost her credibility, although it has served only to undercut it. It's not as if Noem had no clue that the writers had put this in her book. She recorded an audio version of the book, reading every word for herself.

     Called out on this lie, Noem refused to answer on news networks what she had written openly about in her book, saying she "wasn't going to discuss meetings with world leaders." So, these meetings are too secret to tell the American public about unless you buy her book? Noem kept using the Trump playbook of doubling down, accusing the host of "Face the Nation" of treating her more harshly than other guests, telling anchors that they should read her "great" book, and seeming perplexed that nobody wanted to talk about "the issues facing America." Maybe she could have described her plan to secure the border or lower housing costs as opposed to inventing stories of international intrigue and recounting in ghastly detail the murder of small mammals.

     After a week of whiny interviews like this, Noem chose to cancel upcoming interviews with CNN and FOX because of bad weather in South Dakota, in spite of the fact that these interviews were set to take place in New York City. On the latter network, host Greg Gutfeld delivered the most brutal roast of Noem I've ever heard, joining a bipartisan chorus of condemnation against Noem's actions and her refusal to take responsibility. 

     In spite of all of this, Donald Trump has not ruled out Noem as a potential running mate in 2024. He seemed bemused by the story and said that she "had a bad week," like "everyone" does. This puppy killer, for Cricket's sake, doesn't deserve a political career beyond what she's been unfortunate (for the people of South Dakota) enough to have. This website is designed to make this happen, serving as the tip of the spear of a movement to secure justice for Cricket.