From boasting about killing her dog to rumors that she was considering giving the go-ahead for a TV show where immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship (this has been decried as fake news by the Department of Homeland Security), Kristi Noem keeps racking up awkward moments in her role as DHS secretary. The story of Noem killing her young hunting dog Cricket for, well, hunting, earned her the moniker of "Cruella De Vil." The nickname was courtesy of political strategist Matthew Dowd while he spoke to MSNBC in April 2024 as Noem's book " No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward " made uncomfortable waves. "Don't take Dalmatians to South Dakota anytime soon in the course of this," Dowd quipped.

Noem's Cruella De Vil moniker got a pretty merc

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