Kristi Noem is facing renewed online ridicule after posting a photo with her new hunting dog.
The former Homeland Security Secretary, 53, shared the image on X on Saturday to mark the opening of pheasant hunting season, posing alongside a dog named Foster while holding a hunting rifle. Noem wrote that the sport was “part of who we are” and “a tradition worth passing on to our kids and grandkids.”
The post was immediately flooded with pleas from social media users referencing her past actions. “Please don’t kill him,” multiple commenters wrote, according to widespread reactions captured on the platform. Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, added his own commentary on X: “This poor dog is staring at the camera like he’s on death row.”
The backlash stems from a revelation in Noem’s 2024 memoir, “No Going Back,” where she described shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog, Cricket. In the book, Noem wrote that she took Cricket on a pheasant hunt where the young dog behaved poorly, killed a neighbor’s chickens, and attempted to bite her when she tried to restrain the animal. She ultimately took Cricket to a gravel pit and shot the dog dead, describing the animal as “untrainable” and dangerous.
The memoir’s publication sparked national outrage among animal lovers and complicated Noem’s political prospects as she was being discussed as a potential running mate for President Trump in the 2024 presidential election. At the time, she defended her decision vigorously on social media and in public statements.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket,” Noem wrote on X in April 2024. She maintained that the killing was a difficult but necessary choice on a farm and expressed frustration with politicians she accused of pretending “to be something they are not.”
Some users responded to Saturday’s post with creative mockery, including one who shared an AI-edited version of the photo that made Foster appear visibly concerned. The image alterations circulated alongside the genuine pleas for the dog’s safety.
Noem led the Department of Homeland Security after being appointed by President Trump, but she left the position earlier this year. Her tenure there followed her service as Governor of South Dakota, where she frequently promoted hunting and outdoor sports as core elements of her political identity.
The controversy over Cricket has proven remarkably durable, resurfacing repeatedly in online discourse whenever Noem posts content involving animals or firearms. Saturday’s pheasant hunting season post followed this pattern precisely, transforming a routine political messaging opportunity into another round of public condemnation.
Noem’s defenders have consistently pointed to rural agricultural practices and the practical challenges of managing working animals as context for the Cricket incident. Critics have countered that the details she chose to include in her memoir suggested a lack of political judgment at minimum, and cruelty at worst.
The former secretary has not indicated any plans to address the renewed criticism directly. Her X account continued to post hunting-related content through the weekend without referencing the backlash to the Foster photograph.
Noem’s husband Bryon filed for divorce from her earlier this year, according to court records, adding personal turmoil to a period of professional and public relations challenges.