After Minnesota Democratic Senator Tina Smith mocked former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with a puppy photo, Noem's rather impotent attempt to clap back backfired.
On Tuesday, Smith posted a photo of herself hugging a dog and included the following caption:
“Don’t worry buddy, Kristi Noem isn’t around anymore.”
You can see her post and the photo below.
@SenTinaSmith/X
People immediately knew what that was referencing—Noem once killed her "untrainable" 14-month-old puppy, Cricket, because she wasn't good at hunting and was too excitable.
Noem laid out the decision to kill the dog in her memoir No Going Back. She wrote that “Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old" with an “aggressive personality." She said she "hated" the "untrainable" dog and decided to shoot Cricket after taking her to a gravel pit.
The disturbing anecdote first garnered attention after The Guardian reported on it, noting that Noem also wrote about killing a goat she claimed was "nasty and mean" and “loved to chase” Noem's children.
Noem has defended the decision to kill her dog, framing the story as an example of the grimmer aspects of farm life that sometimes have to be faced. She said she has "never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle" and that she had simply "followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor."
Smith's post caught Noem's attention and Noem responded with the following message:
"Oh but I am…And I love puppies . [heart emoji] You…? …not so much."
You can see her post below.
Whatever Noem meant in her reply to Smith didn't land—she was criticized almost immediately.
Noem has not had a great last couple of months.
In March, President Donald Trump announced he would replace Noem as Homeland Security Secretary with Oklahoma Republican Representative Markwayne Mullin.
Noem’s removal followed sharp criticism from both parties over her leadership during Trump’s immigration crackdown, as well as scrutiny surrounding her use of millions in taxpayer funds on videos widely viewed as self-promotional.
Additionally, her husband Bryon has a secret crossdressing double life. Newly released photos show Bryon Noem cross-dressing in private messages sent to several women. According to The Daily Mail, the images were part of “a trove of hundreds of messages” exchanged between Noem and three women.
In the photos, he appears wearing hot pink underwear and a shirt with large faux breasts, while another image shows him posing in a tight light blue T-shirt with fake breasts while making a kissy face. The photos were taken while acting out a “bimbofication” fetish, which centers on exaggerated, hypersexual physical appearances.
The news dropped weeks after a Wall Street Journal report that Noem—who was fired amid criticism of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and her use of taxpayer funds—is having an affair with her aide Corey Lewandowski and that they've traveled together on a luxury 737 MAX with a private cabin in the rear.
