Kristi Noem cuts her book tour short because of 'bad weather'... not the fury over revelations she shot and killed her puppy Cricket

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has cut short her disastrous book tour, ending a planned promotion trip to Washington, DC to return to her state.

A spokesman blamed bad weather in South Dakota as the reason.

'Gov. Noem has sold a lot of books on this tour and is back in South Dakota to be prepared for some potential emerging bad weather systems,' spokesman Ian Fury told RealClearPolitics in a statement explaining why she canceled a promotion trip to DC. 

It's unclear what weather Noem was specifically concerned about in South Dakota, although there was reports of a tornado touching down near Mud Butte, South Dakota. Other storm warnings included the possibility of high winds and winter storms, not unusual for the state. 

News of Noem leaving the book tour first surfaced after she canceled an interview with Fox News host Greg Gutfeld Tuesday evening, who reacted by bringing in his Fox co-host Dana Perino to pretend to be the South Dakota governor for comedic effect. 

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem hunting 

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's new book 'No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward'

Long considered a top-tier candidate for a possible running-mate for former President Donald Trump, Noem released her book 'No Going Back' after meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss the idea of joining him on the ticket.

Political operatives, journalists, and media figures ridiculed Noem at length after they discovered a story in her book about her shooting her dog 'Cricket' with a shotgun when it developed a propensity to attack farm animals.

Noem cited the story as proof she could make tough decisions, no matter what the personal and professional cost.

She defended her decision in a number of cable and network interviews over the weekend, despite the torrent of criticism she received online for her decision.

'All of that shows that when you put someone in a position where they have to make a decision, and they want to protect their family, and protect children and other people from getting attacked from an animal that has attacked others and killed livestock, that's the choice I made over 20 years ago,' she said in an interview on CBS Face the Nation. 'And that I didn't ask somebody else to take- take that responsibility for me, that I had to make that decision myself.'

Noem also defended her decision to shoot a goat after she felt it was a threat to children.

'We live on a farm and ranch and the tough decisions are made many times. And it is- it is to protect people,' she said.

In a more serious moment, Noem refused to admit she mistakenly claimed to have met Kim Jon Un, only confirming to CBS that she had 'made some edits' to the book before its release.

Gov. Kristi Noem with one of her dogs 

Fox anchor Stuart Varney interviews Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem

'I'm not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I'm just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn't have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted,' she said.

Noem also defended her recommendation to handle President Joe Biden's dog Commander that had attacked Secret Service agents on multiple occasions, but put the responsiblity on the president.

'That's the question that the president should be held accountable to,' she replied.

Noem faced additional scrutiny for her dog shooting story during interviews on Newsmax and Fox Business, which only exacerbated news coverage of the controversy. 

She pushed back against Fox Business host Stuart Varney who focused on her dog story during the interview.

'Enough, Stuart. This interview is ridiculous, which you are doing right now,' Noem fired back at one point. 'So you need to stop. It is. It is. Let's talk about some real topics that Americans care about.'

Trump has long been a fan of Noem's political persona, but agknowleged her struggles in the media during an interview with Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin.

'I don't want to comment on anybody on the list,' Trump said. 'But she had a rough couple of days, I will say that.'