Kristi Noem's Chances for Trump VP Role Unraveling

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's chances of becoming the next vice president appear to be rapidly declining as the tide of controversy rises surrounding her book, published today.

For months, Noem was seen as one of the favorites to be named as Donald Trump's 2024 running mate, following reports he would choose a female partner in an effort to broaden the Republican ticket's appeal and sweep up women voters he lost in the last election.

But 52-year-old Noem seems to have been severely damaged by extracts from her book which revealed how she shot her 14-month old puppy, Cricket, because of its aggressive behavior.

Noem later doubled down on the controversy, saying the decision to kill the farm dog because it was "untrainable" was proof of her tough political qualities and how she has never "passed on my responsibilities to anyone" even if they are "hard and painful."

In the wake of the revelations, online betting companies have slashed Noem's chances of becoming Trump's running mate, with reports suggesting the former president has repeatedly criticized the South Dakota governor for talking about why she killed Cricket more than 20 years ago.

Polymarket, a platform where users can place "yes" or "no" bets on the likelihood of world events, placed Noem as the second favorite to be Trump's next running mate in late April, giving her a 10 percent chance.

In the wake of the dog-killing controversy, these odds have since been dramatically reduced to just a 2 percent chance, with Noem at risk of falling out of Polymarket's top 10 shortlist of candidates altogether.

Elsewhere, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich has suggested that Noem "killing the dog and then writing about it ended any possibility of her being picked as VP."

There have also been reports in Rolling Stone, not verified by Newsweek, that Trump has been "disgusted" by Noem's revelations, suggesting she has a poor grasp of "public relations." Citing unnamed sources, the report also claims Trump was asking "why would she do that?" and "what is wrong with her?".

Christopher Devine, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton and author of the book Do Running Mates Matter?: The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections, said that Noem "didn't just kill her dog" but also "killed her chances of becoming Trump's Vice President."

"If you're Donald Trump or one of his advisers, you have to wonder what Kristi Noem might do next to embarrass the campaign or at least cause unwanted distractions. Vice-presidential candidates may not win elections, but they do influence how people see the presidential candidate who—faced with dozens of possible running mates—chose him or her," Devine told Newsweek.

"If Trump were to pick Noem, after all of this, it may cause voters to question his judgment and how seriously he takes the prospect of running the U.S. government again."

Trump's and Noem's offices have been contacted for comment via email.

The controversy surrounding Noem's book No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, published by Center Street, does not end with the story about killing her dog.

More recently, Noem's team admitted that a passage of the book, out on May 7, where the she discusses meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not true. She never met Kim while she served in the House Armed Services Committee during her time as a congresswoman .

"I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un," Noem writes in the book. "I'm sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I'd been a children's pastor, after all)."

Noem's spokesperson Ian Fury has since said that the passage about meeting the North Korea leader is inaccurate and will be removed from the book.

"It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book No Going Back has two small errors," Fury told The New York Times. "This has been communicated to the ghost writer and editor. Kim Jong Un was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn't have been."

Second Error

The second error involves a conversation between Noem and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Fury said a passage will be amended to reflect the tone of the talk, and state that it happened in 2020, not 2021 as suggested in the book, according to Politico.

In a recent interview on CBS' Face the Nation, Noem dismissed the criticisms against her from GOP figures such as Gingrich while once again defending her actions.

"I would say about Republicans criticizing me, these are the same Republicans that criticized me during COVID. They criticized me when I've made other decisions in South Dakota to protect my state," Noem said. "My state today is extremely happy and thriving.

"This was a dangerous animal that was killing livestock and attacking people. And I had little children at the time," she added. "Our operation had many kids running around and people in interaction with the public. And I made a difficult choice."

In February, mother-of-three Noem told Fox News that she and Trump have "never had that conversation" about her potentially being his 2024 running mate.

05/07/2024: This article has been updated with comment from Christopher Devine.