donald trump told a room of wealthy donors in Manhattan on Tuesday night that he had doubts about Cricket, the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer who was shot and killed by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noema report that has haunted Noem as the race to be Trump’s running mate heats up.
During a private fundraiser, Trump weighed in on the firestorm that followed Noem’s admission in her new book that she killed her dog 20 years ago. Trump reflected on Cricket’s fate in blunt comments and described Noem as controversial, according to three sources who were in the room.
The governor was one of several “special guests” at the event, which included rumored vice presidential candidates Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, each of whom Trump introduced. The former president also praised some attendees, including former New York Representative Lee Zeldin and New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox.
“What a week!” Trump said when he reached Noem, adding, “The dog, the dog!”
“I’m very curious,” Trump said, “about the dog.”
Trump tinkered with Cricket’s story — a story that provoked a strong public backlash — before sounding a positive note by returning to talk about longtime ally Noem and praising her unwavering support for him over the years.
“She has been by our side for a long time,” Trump said. “She’s loyal, she’s great.”
One of the sources present said Trump was more confused than critical about the dog controversy.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement Wednesday via text message, a spokesperson for Noem said the governor “appreciated President Trump’s words of support for his leadership during his time as governor and was happy to participate in the event at his request.” .
“Thank you for announcing Governor Noem’s NYT bestseller, ‘No Going Back’ – she is very proud of its success,” Ian Fury added in his text message.
Trump has so far largely tried to avoid intervening in the dog controversy, although Noem has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. During a radio interview Tuesday on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,” Trump simply said that Noem “had a bad week. We all have bad weeks.
“Some tough stories, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Until this week, she was doing incredibly well. And she was hit hard and sometimes you make books and you have a guy writing a book and maybe you don’t read it as carefully as you should, you know.
Two sources said the night, hosted by billionaire Howard Lutnick, raised more than $10 million. It was co-hosted by major Republican donors such as billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson, and billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah.
Scrutiny of Trump’s possible picks for vice president has increased as the Republican convention – scheduled for July in Wisconsin – approaches, and as Trump spends hours a week locked in a Manhattan courtroom, where he is on trial and where he requested more support of its allies.
Burgum appeared in court with Trump on Tuesday, during the campaign last weekend and at a recent donor retreatwho also attended Rubio, Scott and others.
Noem has faced a particularly grueling news cycle over the story of how she shot his ill-fated dog – so much so that she appeared to interrupt the book’s promotional tour quoting “bad weather.”
Noem defended killing Cricket, doubling down and tripling down on the decision in interviews after writing how her late puppy proved “untrainable” and “less than useless” as a hunting dog.
“We were her second chance,” Noem told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview shortly after the story broke. “The day she was sacrificed was the day she massacred the cattle that belonged to our neighbors. She attacked me. And it was a difficult decision.”
Noem later went as far as suggesting that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander, who was exiled from the White House after repeatedly biting Secret Service agents, should suffer a similar fate.
Noem also reported shooting a “disgusting, musky, rancid” family goat in her book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” and made unverified claims about meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
