Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Lara Trump called out Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s viral story of killing her dog Friday on “The Sean Spicer Show,” saying animal euthanasia has increased nearly “tenfold” under the Biden administration.
“Since Joe Biden took office, his policies have been detrimental to every segment of our society, including our family pets,” Lara Trump told Daily Caller when asked about her interview comments. “Dogs and cats are being euthanized at rates nearly 4 times higher than when Donald Trump was President due to the fact that inflation has made life unaffordable to so many families in America. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was truly an animal ally and signed into law the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which made animal cruelty and abuse a federal crime, thus, raising penalties for anyone who mistreats animals in the United States.”
Trump appeared on “The Sean Spicer Show” to discuss the RNC’s upcoming strategy for presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as November grows closer, along with additional political topics. Show host Sean Spicer asked Noem her thoughts on the recent viral story of the Republican governor shooting her dog, Cricket, after the dog “massacred livestock.” (RELATED: ‘Worst Spin’: Kristi Noem Faults ‘Fake News’ After Being Pressed On Backlash To Dog Killing)
“You have been well noted for how much time and effort you have put into the cause of Animal Welfare,” Spicer said. “This has been something that you have done yeoman’s work caring for dogs and other animals, raised a ton of money — brought a lot of light to the cause. Just give me your reaction to what Kristi Noem wrote in her book.”
“I just think it’s such a shame, Sean,” Trump stated. “For me, as you noted, for my entire life I’ve done a lot of work with rescue organizations, with trying to ensure that those that depend on us — and I think you can look at animals as some of those that depend on us the most in this country. The right is done for them.”
“I’ll just note very quickly for the audience that something we’ve seen in the animal rescue community right now is that dog and cat euthanization rates since Joe Biden took office have increased somewhere in the neighborhood of tenfold,” she continued. “It is because people cannot afford to keep their dogs and cats. These are members of our family, you know [I’ve] talk[ed] to people all across the country and they’ll say my dog and my cat this is a member of my family. But they’re having to make these hard decisions right now because we have such poor leadership at the top because life is so much harder for people.”
Trump continued to state that while Noem noted it was a “tough decision,” the RNC co-chair would have opted for a different alternative.
“Obviously whenever I heard about this situation that Kristi Noem wrote in her book,” Trump continued. “I kind of had to ask myself why wouldn’t you seek out another alternative? I always want to encourage people out there if you’re looking for a pet, please rescue. You could have taken that dog to a dog rescue, an animal rescue somewhere, given it to another family who maybe doesn’t have kids and isn’t worried about a dog that may be a little high-strung. I thought it was a shame, but then again look you can never put yourself in someone’s shoes after the fact people make decisions all the time I understand she notes this as a very tough decision.”
“I do think there was probably a better alternative. I certainly would have taken a different route, but that was her decision and then it was her decision to write about it and publicize it which I think a lot of people find very confusing.”
Marty Irby, CEO at Capitol South, LLC, who led the Republican lobbying team to pass the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, told Daily caller that President Trump and Lara Trump “have been tireless champions for animal welfare” and noted that President Trump had “signed more animal protection bills into law than any President in modern history.”
“I can’t imagine Governor Noem stands a chance at becoming President Trump’s running mate in light of her decision to double down in defending animal cruelty,” he said. “Had she admitted what she did was wrong, perhaps things would be different. Noem is clearly out of touch with the mainstream views of the American people.”
Noem appeared in an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity earlier this week and faulted “fake news” for the backlash following the story in The Guardian. The Republican governor has continued to defend her decision to kill Cricket, stating that the choice was between defending the “safety” of her children or a “dangerous animal.”
