Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) assured Republican donors Saturday that the outrage she has stirred from the story of shooting her hunting dog has been “a good thing.”
Noem was in Florida for a private donor retreat alongside Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), per a report, when she responded to the backlash to the excerpt from No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward in which she revealed that after her 14-month-old dog attacked a neighbor’s chickens and her, she took the dog to a gravel pit and shot it. Originally, Noem was slated to attend a fundraiser Saturday night in Colorado, but it was canceled due to threats.
“Listen, going through hard things, and I’ve been through a few of them — I’m going through one right now — I mean they’re just attacking me like crazy right now,” Noem said. “But listen, that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing because it makes you stronger, and it teaches you really what you’re up against, and it makes you recognize how much they lie, how much they will twist, how much they will manipulate. And you just have to be strong and be happy warriors.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Noem’s office for comment.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign hosted the event, at which Noem spoke for 30 minutes. The Washington Examiner reached out to the campaign for comment.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
There were planned protests for Colorado’s Jefferson County Republican Party’s fundraiser Saturday night. County GOP Chairwoman Nancy Pallozzi claimed the group “had no prior knowledge of the contents of the book when we invited her” but canceled the event after “numerous threats” were made against the party, Noem, her staff, and even the Marriott Hotel location.
Noem claimed from the beginning that she was right to euthanize the dog under the law, as the dog, a wire-haired pointer, had killed livestock. However, chickens are not considered livestock under South Dakota law.
