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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks before former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) was confronted with her controversial statement that President Joe Biden's dog, Commander, should be shot.

CBS host Margaret Brennan pressed Noem about her perspective on dogs, pointing to her recent book in which she revealed shooting her hunting dog, Cricket, to death.

Brennan highlighted former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's opinion that killing the dog, then writing about it, "ended any possibility of her being picked as VP," reported the Raw Story.

"Are you doing this to try to look tough? Do you still think that you have a shot at being a VP?" the host pressed on.

Noem defended her stance, answering, "Well, number one, Joe Biden's dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people." 

"So how many people are there to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog?" 

"The president should be accountable too. What is the number?" Noem countered before directing her attention to criticism aimed at her by the Republican Party.

"And I would say about Republicans criticizing me, these are the same Republicans that criticized me during COVID." 

"I'm not retracting anything," the governor exclaimed when Brennan asked whether she would be retracting her book.