Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) rejected comparisons between the politically damaging dog stories that have plagued his and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) potential bids for the White House.
During Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, a decades-old story about him tying his dog Seamus to the roof of his car during a family trip became a political headache for the then-Republican White House nominee.
Now, more than a decade later, Noem faces a similar political storm that could destroy her chances of being chosen as former President Trump’s running mate in 2024. But Romney rejected the correlation.
“I didn’t eat my dog. I didn’t shoot my dog,” Romney said Tuesday in an interview with HuffPost. “I loved my dog and my dog loved me.”
During his presidential campaign, the outgoing senator defended his decision to tie his dog’s kennel to the roof of his car during a 12-hour trip to Canada in 1983, despite the Irish setter suffering from diarrhea.
“This is a kennel that is completely airtight and mounts on top of our car,” Romney told Fox News at the time. “He went up there regularly, had fun. He was in a kennel at home for a long time too. We love the dog. It was where he felt comfortable and we had five kids in the car.”
“My guess is he liked his kennel a lot more than he wanted to be in there,” Romney added.
Noem faced a wave of criticism and mockery after reports emerged about a story in her upcoming book about how, about 20 years ago, she shot and killed her 14-month-old German pointer, Cricket, because of bad behavior and lack of hunting. skills.
Following the news, Democratic governors began mocking the South Dakota governor, posting photos with his puppies along with the caption: “Post a photo with your dog that doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit.”
Noem detailed the story in a social media post on Sunday and has since tried to characterize the anecdote and her willingness to share it as a sign of her authenticity and willingness to make difficult choices.
Some suggested the reports hurt his prospects of being Trump’s pick for vice president. Noem, a former congresswoman who won a second term as governor in 2022, was for months considered a top candidate to join Trump’s ticket.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
