Democrats have repeatedly slammed Republicans as "weird" in 2024 — a line of attack that originated with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. And one of the things Democrats have cited as an example of weird, bizarre behavior among Republicans is an obsession with killing animals.
On September 24, The Guardian reported that back in 2004, now-Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts bragged about killing a pit bull with a shovel — an allegation Roberts flatly denies. The Guardian's reporting follows two major controversies involving Republicans and animals: former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) promoting the debunked conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been kidnapping pets and eating them, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem bragging about shooting a dog in a gravel pit in her book "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward."
The New Republic's Heather Souvaine Horn addresses this GOP fixation on killing animals in an article published on September 26.
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"Had Roberts confirmed that he killed a dog," Horn explains, "he would hardly be the only prominent conservative in recent years to treat such an act as a badge of honor. The most striking example is Kristi Noem, who stunned the country this spring by bragging in her book about shooting her 14-month-old puppy and a family goat, portraying the story as an example of her grit and fortitude…. The book was widely seen as an attempt to burnish her credentials for Trump's VP slot."
Horn adds, "In response to the widespread backlash, Noem dug in, insisting that these were the sorts of tough calls necessitated by country life."
Horn argues that Noem "got the idea that killing animals and boasting about it was a form of informal right-wing résumé building"—and possible inspirations range from Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Gianforte, according to Horn, "illegally killed an underage elk in 2000," while Palin's support for "aerial wolf gunning" during the 2008 presidential race was "lauded by her supporters."
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"So maybe Kevin Roberts bragged at work about killing his kid neighbor's dog with a shovel, or maybe he didn't," Horn comments. "At this point in the history of American conservatism, he's going to have a tough time convincing people to give him the benefit of the doubt."
READ MORE: 'I hated that dog': Kristi Noem recalls taking family pup to gravel pit and killing it
Read Heather Souvaine Horn's full article for The New Republic at this link.