| | | | |  | | By Peder Schaefer | |  Former President Donald Trump listens as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images | THE POLITICS OF PETS — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wanted to use her new memoir to distinguish herself from the crowd of potential Trump vice presidential contenders. Instead, an excerpt from the forthcoming book has turned into a days-long, trial by fire that threatens to doom her national political prospects. In her forthcoming memoir — first detailed by the Guardian on Friday — Noem detailed how she had killed her own dog, a 14-month old Wirehaired Pointer named Cricket, after the rambunctious canine’s frequent misbehavior, which included the killing of a neighbor’s chickens. As laid out in the book, it was an episode designed to burnish Noem’s bona fides as the kind of farm-hardened politician who wouldn’t shy away from the toughest and most unpleasant tasks. But she badly miscalculated. The particulars of her dog-killing story — Noem chronicled how she got her gun, led Cricket to a gravel pit and put her down with a single shot — made her come off as cruel and uncaring. The backlash to her story continues to chew through news cycle after news cycle, potentially torpedoing her chances of becoming a vice presidential candidate. Montana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse — who owns a bird dog like Cricket — dubbed Noem a “puppy-killer” and called her story of killing Cricket “reprehensible.” Popular conservative accounts on X also attacked Noem over the story. The Democratic National Committee released a statement calling Noem’s dog-killing story “truly disturbing and horrifying,” while Meghan McCain said that “you can recover from a lot of things in politics… but not from killing a dog.” Noem has defended her action as the kind of tough decision that must get made on a farm. In a post on X on Sunday, she said that in killing Cricket she had “followed the law” and was a “responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.” But Noem misunderstood the politics of pets — so badly that her attempt to burnish her political persona for a national audience might have, in fact, blown it up forever. American politicians have long made their pets part of their political identity, often leaning on them to humanize themselves to voters. Herbert Hoover posed in 1928 with his Belgian Mastiff named King Tut to try and change his stuffy image, one of the first examples of a presidential contender using a pet to garner votes. Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Richard Nixon both famously utilized their beloved dogs to deflect criticism during times of political peril. Politicians have also discovered the hard way that voters will not tolerate anything that smacks of mistreatment of pets. Lyndon B. Johnson caught flak for holding up one of his beagles by the ears, leading the Humane Society of Texas to denounce Johnson, saying that “ears are for hearing, not for pulling.” More recently, Mitt Romney was skewered during his 2012 presidential campaign over the revelation that he put the family dog, Seamus, on the roof of their car when traveling for summer vacations. Critics claimed it showed Romney’s lack of compassion. In Noem’s case, the episode has done more than expose her to criticism and ridicule — it’s raised questions about her political judgment. Books by politicians with an eye on the national stage are carefully crafted and designed to advance their careers. Who among the governor’s advisers thought it was a good idea to include this story in her memoir? Did no one raise a red flag? It’s a question that will linger for a long time, well beyond the 2024 campaign. The negative reaction to Cricket’s grim fate suggests it’s the kind of story that will trail her for the rest of her career. Noem has scaled the heights of politics — state legislator, member of Congress, governor — but, in a dog-loving nation, it seems likely her obituary will now also mention her as Cricket’s executioner. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at pschaefer@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @p_s_schaefer.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | | | ON A BREAK — Trump’s Manhattan trial is not in session today, but will reconvene Tuesday morning. Today is one of the final days of the Jewish holiday of Passover, and Judge Juan Merchan said last week they would not convene. TOO ONLINE — The Trump trial may well hinge on the testimony of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen and whether or not the defense can discredit him. Outside the courtroom, Cohen is talking about the trial to anyone who will listen, including on nightly streams on TikTok. He’s not running afoul of any edicts from the court, but legal experts suggest that his antics could damage his credibility, reports ABC News. “I’d be furious,” said ABC News contributor and former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons. “As a prosecutor, the last thing you want your witness to do is to be talking about the case in a forum other than the courtroom.”
| | — 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded in North Carolina: Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout today in North Carolina, police said. The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the suburban home in Charlotte and they killed him in the front yard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said. A second person then fired on officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings said. — Attorneys inside and outside the administration urge Biden to cut off arms to Israel: A coalition of lawyers domestic and abroad — including at least 20 that work in the Biden administration — are calling on President Joe Biden to halt military aid to Israel, arguing that its actions in Gaza do not comply with U.S. and international humanitarian law. They plan to send a letter arguing their case to Attorney General Merrick Garland and general counsels across the administration in the coming days. In the letter, obtained by POLITICO, the lawyers contend that Israel likely violated U.S. statutes including the Arms Export Control Act and Leahy Laws as well as the Geneva Conventions prohibiting disproportionate attacks on civilian populations. — Aviation bill cleared for takeoff as lawmakers return to Washington: For the first time in recent weeks, lawmakers are returning to Washington without a true legislative crisis breathing down their necks. Their immediate priority: Reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration ahead of a May 10 deadline. After months of talks, a bipartisan, bicameral group of leaders released compromise legislation shortly after midnight. The House returned today, while the Senate comes back Tuesday.
| | FEELING THE ENERGY — As Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign mounts a bruising state-by-state battle for ballot access, he has often credited enthusiastic volunteers and grass-roots backers with driving the effort. In fact, the operation has become increasingly reliant on consultants and paid petitioners whose signature-gathering work has yielded mixed results and raised questions of impropriety, even among Kennedy’s fans, reports the New York Times. In order to get Kennedy on the ballot in all 50 states, as is his goal, his campaign has deployed a multipart strategy: aggressive legal action, shrewd political alliances and surprise filing tactics meant to slow or prevent challenges.
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Humza Yousaf leaves Bute House after holding a news conference where he announced his resignation as first minister today. | Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images | QUITTING TIME — Humza Yousaf’s resignation as Scotland’s first minister — the leader of the country — plunges the Scottish National Party into its second leadership election in two years. Yousaf — who only took over from Nicola Sturgeon in 2023 — has been under mounting pressure after junking a power sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. That means the SNP now governs as a minority administration, struggling in the polls and reliant on opposition parties it has cheesed off. Plus, there’s a general election in the United Kingdom breathing down its neck as well. Read POLITICO EU’s breakdown of who could replace Yousaf. STAYING ON — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced today that he would not go through with his threat to resign his office. “I have decided to remain prime minister,” he said in an emotional address to the nation. Sánchez’s announcement concluded a five-day “period of reflection” that the prime minister took following the launch of a corruption and influence peddling probe directed at his wife, Begoña Gómez. The preliminary investigation was prompted by a criminal complaint filed by a group with links to the far right known for filing baseless lawsuits against people connected with progressive causes. Although prosecutors have called for the case to be dismissed, and legal experts say that it is baseless, its acceptance by the judiciary rocked Sánchez, who on Wednesday published a four-page letter revealing that he was thinking of resigning as a result of the constant stream of attacks by right-wing groups against him and his family. During his address to the nation Sánchez denounced the toxic political landscape in Spain. “If we accept that politics involves attacking innocent people, it’s not worth it,” he added. “There is no honor that will justify the suffering of the people you love the most.”
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FORAGE AT YOUR PERIL — Expert mushroom foragers are noticing a concerning trend: A number of ebooks popping up online about guides to finding mushrooms in the wild that are plain incorrect. As in — follow their advice, and you might end up poisoning yourself. After doing a little bit of digging, the trend appears to stem from companies that are using artificial intelligence to create these cheap books about mushrooms. The problem is, AI isn’t advanced or careful enough yet to not make some basic mistakes. This issue, which we’re seeing in all kinds of industries and places, is particularly bad when one of these mistakes could kill you. Constance Grady reports for Vox.
| | |  On this date in 2011: Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London following their wedding at Westminster Abbey. | John Stillwell/AP | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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