Internet divided as Megyn Kelly slams Kristi Noem for calling narrative on puppy incident 'fake news'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Megyn Kelly on Thursday, May 2 slammed South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's account of euthanizing her 14-month-old puppy Cricket.

Responding to Noem's dismissal of the widely circulated narrative as "fake news," Kelly remarked, "It was your own foolish story that you decided to reveal. We’re basing this on what you wrote, you foolish dog killer."

Megyn Kelly critiques Kristi Noem's shifting narrative on dog incident

During a conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity regarding Cricket's demise, which Noem detailed in her book 'No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward,' the governor criticized the coverage, stating, "They omit certain or most facts from a story to give it the worst possible interpretation."

“It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem added.

She continued, “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive.”

Kelly noted that Noem has shifted her language from calling Cricket a puppy to referring to it as a dog.

"Now it’s no longer a puppy. Hello, it was 14 months old. There’s no getting around how old the dog was. Now she calls it a dog. But it was a puppy," Kelly remarked.

She continued by addressing Noem's claim that Cricket was "massacring the chickens."

"It’s a dog! It wasn’t trained … It attacked her, she says in the book, when she tried to pull the chicken out of its mouth, like most dogs will do, who are aggressive and untrained when you try to pull something as valuable as a chicken," Kelly elaborated.

"Dogs, like us, see chickens as food!… This is a complete fail!" Kelly concluded.

The host was discussing the issue with a panel consisting of Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch.

Foster acknowledged that he believes there's a reason why Noem hasn't faced even harsher criticism for the story.

"The other part of this that is challenging, I’m just going to keep it a buck with you. OK, because I feel like we’re in a circle of trust here. If she were a less, if she were harder to look at, it would be easier to condemn her.”

The act of Noem shooting the puppy has garnered strong disapproval from both side of the political spectrum.

Netizens divided on Megyn Kelly's remarks

Social media was split down the middle over Kelly's comments, with some fiercely defending her while others vehemently criticized her views. 

One viewer wrote, "She made a big mistake by putting that in her book! Did she think people were going to cheer for killing a dog? Plus now her affair has been brought up. Kristi shot herself in the foot!"

Another viewer said, "Two strikes for dogs... How many strikes for felons?'

One more viewer observed, "Kristi Noem in her attempt to convince us she is as tough as a man really backfired. Most people cannot relate to someone shooting a puppy. Sean Hannity giave her an opportunity to explain herself. She dug herself in deeper blaming the media. She’s done politically."

A comment read, "This fool really thought putting that story in her book would give people a good impression of her."

One comment conveyed, "If you put it in your book, how can it be fake news?"

However, one person noted, "I disagree with you. If she had turned the dog over to some authority they would have no doubt put it down also. She was raised in the country where you learned to handle these things by yourself."

"She killed a dangerous animal whereas you good people would take it to a vet to put down for you or the animal shelter and let them do it. Not to mention the laughing about it, she didn't laugh about it, "said another perspn.

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.