South Dakota Representative defends Noem, shifts focus to other pending issues in the country

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Entertainment media across the country continues to barrage Governor Kristi Noem based on a quote from her upcoming book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.”

Monday night, late-night talk shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon made references to Noem writing about killing her 14-month-old dog after she claimed the dog was untrainable. Once again, stirring the pot on a topic that has taken the U.S. by storm regarding the vice presidential hopeful.

Tuesday morning, CNN caught up with South Dakota’s lone representative to get his thoughts on the situation.

“There are lots of people in rural America who, if an animal has got to be put down, they would do that themselves. Now, most people would go to the vet, but I would tell you that Kristi Noem is not the first or the 1000th farmer or rancher who’s put down an animal themselves. That’s not unusual in rural America.” said South Dakota representative Dusty Johnson. “I mean, I would tell you that people are going to handle those situations differently. I know Kristi Noem and clearly, she would have handled that, I think, with as much humanity for the animal as was needed.”

Defending Noem, Johnson also said the country has more important issues to pay attention to other than worrying about a quote in a book.

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