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