South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem got defensive in a Sunday interview on CNN’s State of the Union after anchor Dana Bash questioned the Republican about killing her dog, something she admitted to in her new memoir, "No Going Back."
Referencing the criticism Noem has faced, Bash asked the governor, “Now that you’ve had time to process all of that, in all candor, do you have regrets?”
Noem responded by saying she killed “the vicious animal” to protect her children and that she included the story in her memoir because it was difficult for her.
Before Bash could follow up, Noem interjected.
“We’ve covered this!” Noem shouted.
"But about actually shooting the dog," Bash pressed.
Noem again insisted that the issued had been "covered" enough. "I’m a mom and protected my children from a vicious animal," she said. "We just had a 9-year-old boy in South Dakota killed just days ago from a dog. You know, that happens."
It was hardly the first time Noem has been questioned about the incident. In many of her promotional book interviews, she was grilled by reporters about shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, who she deemed "untrainable." Noem’s memoir has received harsh reviews and intense criticism for its contents, which also ncluded a now-retracted claim that she met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
After several tense on-air interviews throughout May, Noem, who is no longer believed to be under consideration to be Trump’s running mate, seemed to have canceled the rest of her media tour.
Her return to the cable news circuit on Sunday morning proved to be just as uncomfortable as before.
Asked what she learned from the fall out over the dog-killed anecdote, Noem responded: “I’ve learned that challenging times and hard decisions are hard,” before abruptly changing the subject to why she thinks President Joe Biden is a “trainwreck."
