Stephen Colbert scolded South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for killing her puppy, Cricket, as he lashed out at her during Monday’s episode of The Late Show.
Noem, Republican Donald Trump’s potential running mate, caused a storm after she revealed in her upcoming memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, that she killed the 14-month-old puppy.
During the show, Colbert mocked Noem for her “fascinating” confession about what she did to her late dog.
“No, no, you bad psycho governor, no, sit down, bad, stay, stay away from the dogs,” Colbert shouted while spraying water with a spray bottle.
“Look, I know it sounds terrible, but it’s so much worse,” he added before saying, “Why did Cricket need to kick him?”
Stephen Colbert scolded South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for killing her puppy, Cricket, as he lashed out at her during Monday’s episode of The Late Show.
Noem, a potential running mate for Republican Donald Trump, caused a storm after she revealed in her upcoming memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, that she killed the 14-month-old puppy.
On the way home from a hunting trip in which she took the puppy with older dogs, Noem wrote that when she stopped to talk to a family, Cricket, a wire-haired pointer, got out of her truck and attacked and killed some of the family chickens. and then bit the governor.
In her book, Noem said she “hated” the dog and considered him “untrainable.”
Noem apologized profusely, wrote the distraught family a check for the deceased chickens and helped them dispose of the carcasses, she wrote. He added that Cricket “was the picture of joy” as the incident unfolded.
“I hated that dog,” Noem writes, considering her “untrainable.”
In response, Colbert defended the pup and said Cricket was “untrainable” because he was so young.
Noem mentioned in her book that Cricket “ruined the hunt” when she “went crazy with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.”
“But who among us hasn’t seen a dog running across a field, without a care in the world, and thought, ‘You deserve to die,'” Colbert said.
In the book, Noem recalls, “At that moment I realized I had to leave her.”
Noem later said she took Cricket to a gravel pit and shot her to death.
Colbert said the book sounded “less like a political memoir and more like the manifesto of a guy whose neighbors said, ‘He just kept to himself, you know?’
In her book, Noem also mentioned that her family had a “nasty, mean” goat that smelled bad and liked to chase her children, so she decided to go ahead and kill the animal as well.
The Republican said Cricket “ruined the hunt” when she “went crazy with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” Pictured: Noem posing with a gun in a Facebook photo.
On Sunday, she responded to the backlash she received after voluntarily confessing to killing the young puppy.
She wrote that the goat survived the first shot, so she returned to the truck, grabbed another shell casing, and shot it again, killing it.
After taking Cricket’s life, Noem recalled her daughter asking her, ‘Hey, where’s Cricket?’
The excerpts, first published by The Guardian, sparked immediate criticism on social media platforms, where many posted photos of their own pets. President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign released the story on social media along with a photo of Noem with Trump.
The Lincoln Project, a conservative group that opposes Trump, released a video it called a ‘public service announcement’ showing dogs behaving badly and explaining that ‘shooting your dog in the face is not One option’.
“Old dogs, injured dogs, and sick dogs are killed humanely, not by shooting them and throwing them into a gravel pit,” wrote Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project in X. “It’s unsportsmanlike and deliberately cruel… but she wrote this for Prove That Cruelty Is The Point.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Wals also slammed Noem for the story, sharing a photo with her dog and writing, “Post a photo with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting it and throwing it into a gravel pit.” I’ll start.’
Meanwhile, Paws for Animal Rescue, a pet adoption service in South Dakota, issued a statement saying no dog is untrainable.
The group said on Facebook: ‘PAWS Animal Rescue will not express our opinion on this specific situation. However, we would like to make a statement about “untrainable dogs.”
Responding to the backlash, Noem responded on Sunday, saying she “can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old Cricket story.”
The Republican continued: ‘The book is filled with many honest stories from my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions and lessons learned. What I’ve learned from my years of public service, especially leading South Dakota during COVID, is that people look for leaders who are authentic, willing to learn from the past, and don’t shy away from difficult challenges.
“My hope is that anyone who reads this book understands that I am always working to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life.”
Noem is a possible running mate for former President Donald Trump. Republican strategist Alice Stewart said that while some Republican voters might appreciate the story, others might disagree with his mistreatment of animals.
The governor of South Dakota is photographed with another dog she had, Hazel
‘The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs that attack and kill livestock can be euthanized. Since Cricket had shown aggressive behavior towards people by biting them, I decided what he did. Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed my responsibilities on to anyone else to handle. Even if it’s hard and painful.
‘I followed the law and was a responsible father, dog owner and neighbor. As I explained in the book, it wasn’t easy. But often the easy way is not the right one.
Noem claimed she included the story in her book to show her willingness to do anything “difficult, messy and ugly” if necessary.
He previously took to social media to defend himself on the same issue.
“We love animals, but difficult decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” he said on X.
“Sadly, a few weeks ago we had to put down 3 horses that had been in our family for 25 years.”
He urged readers to pre-order his book if they want “more real, honest, politically incorrect stories that will blow the media’s mind.”
Republican strategist Alice Stewart said that while some Republican voters might appreciate the story “as a testament to her resolve,” it ultimately creates a distraction for Noem.
“It never looks good when people think you’re mistreating animals,” Stewart said. ‘I have a dog that I love like a child and I can’t imagine thinking about doing that, I can’t imagine doing that, and I can’t imagine writing about it in a book and telling everyone about it.