South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem canceled two planned media appearances for her new memoir following backlash surrounding the book, Deadline reports.
The Republican politician’s No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward was published Tuesday by Center Street. The book stoked controversy even before its publication after it was revealed that it contains an anecdote about Noem killing her family’s puppy, Cricket, whom she called “less than worthless.”
Then, earlier this week, Center Street said that it would remove from further printings a passage in which Noem falsely claimed she had met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The passages have made Noem fodder for late-night comedians, possibly dimming her prospects in national politics. She had previously been considered a potential vice presidential pick for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump; some sources say that is now unlikely, although Trump on Tuesday complimented her.
CNN’s Dana Bash said that Noem canceled a planned appearance on her show Inside Politics, while Greg Gutfeld of Fox News said that Noem backed out of an interview on his show, citing bad weather in South Dakota.
“Blames the weather,” Gutfeld told his viewers. “I don’t believe it. I just think it is a little late to keep her on a short leash.”
The Daily Beast reports that Gutfeld repeatedly mocked Noem on his show, saying at one point, “Who knows why she canceled? When we asked how her week was going, she replied ‘ruff.’ Maybe it wasn’t bad weather, I heard it was raining cats and dogs. I tried to convince Noem to stay and do our show. I even told her my dog Gus had all his shots. She said not yet he hasn’t.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
