South Dakota Governor Kristi NoemPresident-elect Donald Trumphis reported choice to serve as the next Secretary of Homeland Security, has had her fair share of controversy since shooting her dog to a disputed claim about a meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Department of Homeland Security oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making the department one of the most important in trump cardhis efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the US.

Noem was elected governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022.

Here’s a rundown of her controversies and bizarre moments:

Shoot the cricket

She was seen as one of the leading candidates to be Trump’s running mate until excerpts from her book No turning back were published, in which she wrote about shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket, arguing that it was “untrainable”.

The excerpts were published in April of this year by The Guardian. She wrote that she decided to “put down” the dog after it attacked a family’s chickens before “lashing out to bite me”.

“I knew I had to put her down,” Noem wrote, adding that she “hated that dog.”

Former Republican House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Political that “getting the dog sick and then writing about it ended any possibility of her being picked” as Trump’s running mate.

Appearing on Fox News after widespread criticism, Noem claimed she made the decision to kill Cricket as a mother fearing for her children’s safety.

“You know, that story was a choice as a mother. The safety of my children from a dangerous dog that kills animals and attacks people,” she said.

Claiming to have met Kim Jong Un

The press got hold of an early version of the No turning back which included the claim that Noem met with Kim Jong Un.

“I remember when I met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure I underestimated myself, having no idea of ​​my experience watching the little tyrants (I had been a children’s pastor, after all),” she wrote, according to The New York Times. “Dealing with foreign leaders requires resolve, preparation and determination.”

After the account was questioned, a spokesperson for Noem said the story should not have been included and would be removed before publication, according to Newsweek.

In May, Noem was asked by CBS if she had met with North Korea’s authoritarian leader.

“I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I’m just not going to do that,” she said at the time. “This anecdote should not have appeared in the book and as soon as it was brought to my attention I made sure it was adjusted.”

She also stated in her book that she had been set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, but said she refused to go ahead with the meeting after he made what she believed to be “a very pro-Hamas comment and anti-Israel to the press. .”

While Noem was in Paris last November for the Worldwide Freedom Initiative conference, her claim that she was scheduled to meet Macron was dismissed by the Elysée Palace.

Dancing with Trump at the Pennsylvania town hall

Noem hosted a town hall event with Trump in Oaks, Pennsylvania on October 14. However, shortly after he began questioning the former softball president, Trump had had enough.

About 30 minutes into the event, a medical emergency in the audience interrupted the proceedings. Another medical emergency soon followed.

Instead of getting back on track, Trump had his staff start playing the campaign playlist as he began swaying to the music. After the second medical emergency was dealt with, Trump asked for some air conditioning at the venue. Noem tried to make a joke about inflation, saying, “They probably can’t afford it, sir.”

Five questions were asked when Trump decided enough was enough.

“Let’s stop asking questions. Let’s just listen to music,” he said. “Let’s turn this into music – who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”

For nearly 40 minutes, Trump swayed on stage, with Noem trying to sway, looking like he had no idea what to do amid the bizarre proceedings.

Being banned from Tribal Lands amid cartel claims

After claiming that some of them had been infiltrated by drug cartels, Noem was banned from the lands of all nine Native American tribes in South Dakota this year, Newsweek noted.

In January, during a joint session of the state legislature, Noem said, “Make no mistake, the cartels have a presence on several of the tribal reservations in South Dakota … They have been able to recruit tribal members to join the business their crimes”.

“We have some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels that are out there and that’s why they attack me every day,” she added in March.

Oglala Sioux Tribe Chairman Frank Star Comes Out told the AP that “our people are being used for her political gain.”

In May, Noem told CNN, “I just want to tell the truth about the real challenges they face in some areas of Indian Country.”