Trump's potential VP pick Kristi Noem gives campaign a 'Kamala problem' as outrage grows over her killing of her 14-month-old dog

Gov. Kristi Noem, 52, may have ruined her chances of becoming Donald Trump's vice president after admitting in her new book to shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog and a family goat. 

A person close with Trump's campaign told Semafor that the South Dakota governor has repeatedly proven she's a 'lightweight. They also compared her to Vice President Kamala Harris and how wildly unpopular she has become.

'We can't afford a Kamala problem,' the individual noted.

Noem is included on speculative lists Trump, 77, is considering for his running mate in 2024, but excerpts from her upcoming book No Going Back may have derailed those aspirations.

While the Republican governor acknowledged 'some people are upset' with revelations she killed her dog Cricket two decades ago she claims people want authentic stories from politicians that don't sugar coat the hard stuff.

Donald Trump's campaign has growing concerns with Gov. Kristi Noem (right) and her prospects of being VP pick after her book detailed her killing a family farm dog

'Governor Noem just keeps proving over and over that she's a lightweight. We can't afford a Kamala problem,' a person close to Trump's campaign said. VP Harris is wildly unpopular with approval ratings in the 30s

'The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down,' Noem wrote in a lengthy X post on Sunday. 'Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.'

'Whether running the ranch or in politics, I have never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle,' she continued. 'Even if it's hard and painful. I followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.'

She admitted that a 'better politician' wouldn't even tell the story about killing their family farm dog Cricket while her kids were at school. But immediately after the outcry, Noem revealed that her family recently killed three old horses on the farm. 

'We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,' Noem wrote on X on Friday in response to reports slamming her for the story.

'Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years,' the governor added.

She concluded by promoting her book: 'If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that'll have the media gasping, preorder No Going Back.'

Former Trump communications aide Alyssa Farah responded to Noem's X post with: 'There are countless organizations that re-home dogs from owners who are incapable of properly training and caring for them.'

Noem details shooting and killing a 14-month-old dog before her kids came back from school in her upcoming book No Going Back

She acknowledge on X she understands why 'some people are upset' but reiterated it was legal in South Dakota to 'put down' a dog that attacks and kills livestock 

No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward hits shelves on May 7

'Governor Noem just keeps proving over and over that she's a lightweight,' a person close to Trump's 2024 campaign said. 'We can't afford a Kamala problem.'

Harris is wildly unpopular for a vice president, with most recent polls placing her in the mid-30s in job approval. Many critics – and even supporters of President Joe Biden – say that the VP is 'unlikable' and some call her laugh a 'cackle.'

The Vice President said last week in an interview with Drew Barrymore on her daytime talk show that it's misogynistic when people criticize her laugh because America is still getting used to having a woman VP.

Many speculate that Trump will also pick a woman as his running mate in 2024.

But those betting on Trump's VP pick think South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has the best shot - a 22 percent chance. While New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance - long considered potential favorites for the VP slot - are sitting at 9 percent and 6 percent, respectively. 

Noem was among the women floated as a good pick for the former president, but some say even before revelations of shooting her dog came out she was a longshot for the spot.

Not only do some of her policy positions fall right of the former president – like her stance abortion – but she has engaged in some activity that Trump may not see fitting for a VP. For example, she filmed an infomercial for a Texas dental clinic last month.

Noem admitting to killing her dog has people wondering if she was intentionally sabotaging her chances of being Trump's VP, or was just trying to get ahead of a bad story.

The governor's book No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward will be released on May 7.

In it, she writes about the dog she shot at the gravel pit on her family property, moments before her children came home from school. 

Noem claimed the dog had an 'aggressive personality' that couldn't be tamed - as evidenced by the fact that Cricket ruined a pheasant hunt for being 'out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.'

Among bettors, Sen. Tim Scott is by far and away the favorite to become Trump's vice president, while Noem has fallen out of favor with just 4 percent odds

Voters are historically sensitive about man's best friend.

An environmental group released an ad attacking then-VP pick Sarah Palin for supporting aerial wolf-hunting. One study revealed it was the most effective ad of the 2008 presidential election cycle.

Democrats have said they believe their most effective ad of the 2022 midterm elections was one tying Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz to experiments on dogs. Sen. John Fetterman went on to win the race.

Noem was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large district from 2011-2019 before she was elected governor of the state.