Alternative Fact
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem needed a boost in publicity to remain a Republican VP contender in 2024. And the “new” Republicans must say and do crazy things to prove themselves. So, she first published a strange video about the out-of-state dentist who recently worked on her teeth. Then, in her upcoming book, she attempts to show her toughness and willingness to do anything “difficult, messy and ugly” if it has to be done by recounting a story where she kills her 14-month old puppy because it did not hunt well, and subsequently turned the gun on a family goat because it smelled.
Fact
These two public relations efforts show that Noem, the governor of a state with a population roughly equal to that of San Antonio or Austin, has serious character and judgement challenges. Publishing an infomercial video about an out-of-state dentist who worked on her teeth raises the perception of free dental work for the governor in exchange for the promotional video. Killing your puppy because it isn’t trained well reveals more about the Governor’s animal training skills and extreme lack of creativity for dealing with problems. Killing the goat because it “smelled bad” might require anger management training. Maybe the Governor should consider a bigger job, such as mayor of Austin or San Antonio, before throwing her name into the Republican VP contender pool.