Kristi Noem doubles down on Puppygate -- can MAGA's endless trolling go any lower?

[marmar]

Kristi Noem doubles down on Puppygate — can MAGA's endless trolling go any lower?
When your sole purpose and only political tactic is to trigger the "libs," there's no limit to the depravity

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 7, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) By any normal political standards, the reaction that Kristi Noem, the MAGA-friendly governor of South Dakota, got to her recent revelation that she'd once shot a pet dog named Cricket was bad. It wasn't just liberals who were horrified, either, but pretty much the entire political press and most Republicans. Even some of the nastiest trolls of the MAGA-sphere could not countenance her story, and at least one fundraiser meant to feature Noem was canceled. Any political expert would have advised Noem to take one of those long vacations that Fox News hosts indulge in whenever the on-air racism becomes too blatant. Instead, Noem just keeps on digging herself deeper.

On the Sunday talk show "Face the Nation," Noem was asked about another passage in her portentously titled book "No Going Back," in which she "jokingly" threatens Joe Biden's dog, Commander, writing, "Commander, say hello to Cricket for me." Among many other things, this supposedly humorous remark undercuts Noem's post-publication claims that she killed Cricket reluctantly, suggesting that she thought the whole thing was a big laugh. When pressed about this during the Sunday interview, Noem refused to walk it back, arguing that Biden's dog has bitten people and the only way to hold the president "accountable" is to insist that he kill the dog. After this latest debacle, Noem played the victim on Twitter, complaining that the host had "interrupted" her and it was all some kind of liberal plot.

Saying nothing is always a free and available option, so it's a notably odd choice for Noem to keep on talking about how many dogs she wants to kill. It's possible or likely that she suffers from the narcissistic delusion common to Donald Trump and his leading sycophants — essentially, that if they keep on talking they can wiggle out of any bad situation. But whatever is going on in the governor's head, this bizarre behavior is a clear result of the "always be trolling" mentality that dominates the MAGA-fied Republican Party.

....(snip)....

Trolling is a lot like an addictive drug, however: To get the same high, you have to keep upping the dosage. What got the liberals in a tizzy a year ago (or eight years ago) now barely gets a reaction. We now live in a world where Trump gives lengthy interviews in which he validates election violence, brags about turning the Justice Department into his personal vengeance engine and agrees that states can monitor women's pregnancies — and that stuff barely cracks the headlines. The constant assault of right-wing provocation has built up emotional callouses on liberals as well as the mainstream press. It once seemed like a dark joke to say that Trump would eventually resort to kicking puppies to get a rise out of people. Noem skipped that step entirely and went straight to shooting them. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/05/07/kristi-noem-doubles-down-on-puppygate-can-magas-endless-trolling-go-any-lower/

[marble falls]

1. And if we're not careful, we'll joke a terrible action by a terrible person into inconsequential trivia. As dispicable .

... as killing an animal the way she did is, it isn't the worst she does. Cruelty to animals is the epitome but not not the capper of the evil she's capable of.

[ExciteBike66]

5. But it's the one that can tank her politically...

[marble falls]

6. unless it gets turned into a joke.

[malaise]

2. Inhumane trash

That is all

[ecstatic]

3. Unbelievable! I'm really surprised the tidbit about Commander didn't come out earlier.

Has anyone on our side read the book in its entirety? I know The Guardian received an advance copy, but I'm wondering if the reader got stuck and derailed after Cricket and the goat were slaughtered. How do you keep reading after reading something like that?

Even though it looks like noem is "done," we have to keep at this because maggots have a way of coming back to life. I wouldn't be surprised at all if trump went ahead and picked her for VP.

[ExciteBike66]

4. I agree with Noem, loving dogs IS a liberal plot...