South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been in the doghouse after several passages from her memoir have received negative viral attention, including references to shooting animals and a made-up story about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. 

During her appearances on various news programs, both mainstream and right-wing figures grilled Noem about the controversial passages in her book. In response, Noem doubled-down, deflected, and expressed contempt for being questioned.

Noem has now called off the rest of her book tour, canceling appearances on Fox News’ Gutfeld! and CNN’s Inside Politics.

Mainstream outlets grilled Noem about “celebrating the killing of the animals” and her fake meeting with Kim Jong Un

Noem recently made two separate appearances on CBS shows on Face the Nation and CBS Mornings to discuss her new book, No Going Back. 

During those appearances, CBS hosts grilled Noem about the controversial chapter in her book in which she admitted to shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket, as well as a now-retracted passage about a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

On May 5, when Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan asked why she shot her dog and if she regretted sharing the story, Noem defended her actions, arguing that she was “protecting” her children and livestock. The next day, on CBS Mornings, she reiterated her claim that she was protecting her family and told the story so “people would know I don’t pass my responsibilities onto anybody else."

At one point, Brennan asked Noem about another passage in her book in which she suggested that President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, should be euthanized. 

“Are you doing this to try to look tough?” Brennan asked.

“Well, number one, Joe Biden’s dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people,” Noem said. “So how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do with it?”

Noting that Commander has been removed from the White House, the moderator asked, “You’re saying [Commander] should be shot?” Noem replied: “That’s what the president should be accountable to.”

Brennan also asked Noem about another passage in which she admitted to shooting a family goat and commented that it seemed as though the governor was “celebrating the killing of the animals.” 

Noem was also asked in her CBS interviews about her book’s now-retracted claim that she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while serving in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee. She deflected, saying that she has met with “many, many world leaders.” 

Following the interview, Noem decried CBS as “fake news” and claimed that conservatives “are always treated differently” in mainstream media. 

During a May 6 appearance on Elizabeth Vargas Reports, News Nation host Elizabeth Vargas also grilled Noem about the inclusion of Kim in her book.

Vargas asked Noem why she “didn’t notice” the factual error when recording the audiobook version of her memoir and told Noem she was just trying to “get a straight answer from it.” 

Noem’s publisher, Center Street, has stated that it is removing the passage about Kim from the book and has directed “further questions about the passage” to Noem. 

Noem retreated to right-wing media, where she faced similarly tough questioning from conservative outlets

Even after Noem retreated to right-wing media to promote her book, she did not escape criticism and tough questions. 

During a May 7 interview with Noem, Newsmax host Rob Finnerty said, “I don’t even think you’re on the list” to be Trump’s vice president pick. 

In reference to Noem’s decision to discuss shooting Cricket in her book, Fox Business host Stuart Varney told her, “Many people are questioning your political future.” Varney and Noem then sparred over whether Cricket was a puppy when she killed her. Noem ended the interview saying, “This interview is ridiculous.”

After those unfriendly interviews, Noem canceled a scheduled appearance on Fox News’ late night show, Gutfeld! 

During the May 7 episode of the show, host Greg Gutfeld mocked the potential vice presidential candidate, displaying a photoshopped image of Noem wearing a T-shirt that said, “Ask me about my dead dog.”

Some right-wing media figures attempted to cover for Noem. 

Fox Business host Larry Kudlow downplayed Noem’s admission about shooting her dog, citing his “saintly” wife who spent time on a ranch. 

“Now, I would dare say most people in the Beltway media have never been on a ranch and don’t understand the working dog hypothesis,” Kudlow said.

On his prime-time show, Fox News host Sean Hannity offered Noem a “chance to explain” the dog-killing episode and did not push back when Noem blamed the “fake news” for supposedly twisting her account. 

“Sean, you know how the fake news works,” she said. “They leave out some or most of the facts of a story. They put the worst spin on it. And that’s what’s happened in this case.” 

Newsmax’s Eric Bolling mentioned that Brennan had “interrupted” Noem 36 times during her Face the Nation appearance and offered the governor an uninterrupted “minute or so” to defend herself against attacks from “leftist media” that have "you out there killing Fido.” 

Bolling also asked Noem if the various controversies surrounding her book were due to the editor being a “liberal plant,” to which Noem replied, “The buck always stops with me. I take my own full responsibility.”

Right-wing media have heaped criticism on Noem following CBS interviews and some contentious exchanges with right-wing hosts

• National Review’s Jim Geraghty wrote a scathing piece about Noem, calling her “not all that sharp” and “oblivious to the concept of stopping digging when you’re already in a hole.” In the piece, titled “Noem’s Dog-icidal No-Apology Tour Fails to Convince,” Geraghty also countered her claims of media bias, writing, “‘It’s all the liberal media’s fault’ just doesn’t fit when you’re the one who voluntarily told stories of puppy-killing and made false claims about meeting world leaders.” [National Review, 5/6/24]
• Right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong criticized Noem for her interviews, saying she is “short circuiting,” calling her “a dog’s worst nightmare,” and accusing her of “doubling down on all of the lies in her book.” [Twitter/X, 5/7/24, 5/7/24, 5/3/24]
• After Noem’s Face the Nation interview, OutKick’s X (formerly Twitter) account lambasted her, posting, “It's hard to imagine this could have gone any worse.” The account wrote: “Kristi Noem gave an unbelievably bad interview amid mounting issues tied to killing her dog and a claim about meeting Kim Jong Un.” [Twitter/X, 5/6/24]
• Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis posted that “future political science undergrads will study Noem as a cautionary tale” and called the situation “incredible.” Ellis made the comment while reposting a clip of Noem on Face the Nation discussing Biden’s dog Commander. [Twitter/X, 5/5/24]
• RedState published an article titled “Kristi Noem Just Cricketed Her Career in Disastrous Interview.” The piece stated that “in trying to deflect,” Noem “gave terrible answers and made a huge gaffe.” It also questioned her ability to be a successful vice president pick, saying, “Sis, if you can't handle an interview with Margaret Brennan, you're not gonna be able to handle Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.” [RedState, 5/5/24]
• American Spectator’s Nate Hochman posted, “Obviously, Noem lied about meeting Kim Jong Un in her book. But her excuse is even worse.” Hochman responded to her claim that “this anecdote shouldn't have been in the book, and as soon as this was brought to my attention, I made sure that was adjusted” by writing: “So you’re saying you didn't even know what was in your book?” [Twitter/X, 5/5/24]
• BlazeTV’s Lauren Chen wrote, “First PuppyGate and now a madeup story about Kim Jong Un. I don't think we can overstate how much of a disaster Kristi Noem's book has been.” [Twitter/X, 5/5/24]
• Fox News host Greg Gutfeld mocked Noem after she bailed on a scheduled appearance on his show, joking that “she [didn't] just shoot the dog, she screwed the pooch.” Gutfeld and Fox News’ Dana Perino also playacted how an interview between Gutfeld and Noem might have gone, with Perino making references to “more important issues in the world like animal cruelty.” [Fox News, Gutfeld!, 5/7/24; Twitter/X, 5/8/24]