South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem desperately tries to relaunch VP bid with glossy documentary after she admitted slaughtering ‘naughty’ puppy

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem claims she grew up as “the kid who loved animals” in a new documentary that seeks to boost her chances of becoming Donald Trump’s running mate.

Noem, who returned to cable news a few weeks ago after a month-long hiatus, went missing amid the backlash after promoting a book that included an anecdote about the shooting of her fourteen-month-old dog “Cricket,” which sparked outrage among the police. public.

America’s Governor: The Kristi Noem Story is a self-produced film that attempts to humanize the once rising star of the Republican Party.

‘[The film] is a riveting 45-minute documentary that delves deeply into the life and political journey of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem,” according to the film’s website.

The film was directed by Shawn Rech, who has made largely religious documentaries and films highlighting the stories of wrongly convicted murderers, and was produced by the Cleveland-based company Transition Studios.

Noem tries to portray himself not only as a political titan, but also as an animal lover who has always taken special care of critters, including a scene set against the backdrop of the governor with a small dog.

“So from the time I was five, six years old, even all the neighbors knew how much I loved animals and would bring me random animals that they would find, or that they would have to care for or take care of,” she says in the film.

Noem’s mother is offered as testimony shortly afterwards, discussing a time when a young Kristi saved a cat.

“Even if there was a donkey or goat or something else in the cattle sale barn that no one bought that day, they would call my dad and say, ‘Does Kristi want this?’ So that was my passion and love,” Noem said.

Noem was widely considered to be at the top of a list of potential running mates for former President Donald Trump until her book was released, sparking a wave of criticism from dog lovers around the world.

The Republican governor tried to continue her book tour, but the story about her dog shooting consumed all reporting and media interviews surrounding her book.

Noem eventually cut her book tour short in early May and returned to South Dakota quote bad weather in the state that demanded her attention.

Afterwards, Trump said in an interview that Noem had had a bad week, but that he was still a fan of the South Dakota governor, who “has been a supporter of mine since day one.”

Trump said in an interview that “people from different parts of the country probably think a little differently” about the story of her shooting her dog, but admitted it was a difficult controversy.

“She had a bad week,” Trump said. “We all have bad weeks.”

But if Noem was ever a serious running mate candidate, it appears she is not on the shortlist.

The list reportedly includes Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Marco Rubio of Florida, Senators JD Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, New York Representative Elise Stefanik and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. .

Noem said she did not care if she was chosen as Trump’s running mate, but said choosing a woman would be an asset to his campaign.

“I think that would be helpful,” she said. “According to the polls I’ve seen for him, in a lot of swing states, having a woman helping him on the campaign makes a difference.”