When Kristi Noem included a story about killing a young dog in her book, she was doing so to appeal to one person: Donald Trump. Trump famously hates dogs, and he may even hate dogs as much as he loves cruelty. With her story, Noem knew she was checking both of those boxes.
Noem likely knew she would face backlash from the left, but she was probably wasn't ready for the criticism she faced from the right. Conservative media sources have attempted to give her cover. One of the most pathetic attempts came during Eric Bolling's Monday night Newsmax show.
The host wondered if a Liberal editor had somehow wronged the South Dakota for allowing her to write her own words in her own book.
"I’ve also written a couple of books," Bolling began, "and I know how the process works. You write some chapters, you don’t write the whole book at once. You write a chapter or two, you send it to the editors, and they edit, they read it, they add, they subtract, and here’s my question. The editor, the editor, was she possibly a plant? A liberal plant? Because I’m not sure either one of these stories – the dog story, the North Korea story – seems like the Kristi Noem I know."
Noem responded, "No, the buck always stops with me. I take my own full responsibility. I wrote this book and I take the responsibility for what’s in it. It’s a great book, Eric. I hope everybody reads it and buys it. It’s available tomorrow."