Lara Trump Gets Hit With Ruthless Kristi Noem Jokes After Photo Caption Fail

Eric Trump's wife, Lara Trump has riled up social media. On June 2, 2024, the co-chair to the Republican National Committee took a break from supporting her father-in-law, Donald Trump's re-election campaign to post an intimate shot of her family life on X, former known as Twitter. The photo featured Lara posing with her and Eric's two children against a gorgeous scenic background, and on the surface, it seemed innocent. However, things took a turn when the caption explained the absence of their beloved family pets, which garnered unintended comparisons to South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem. The governor made headlines in April 2024 after admitting in her memoir that she killed her dog, Cricket, because of unruly behavior and aggression. "The dogs didn't make the invite to Sunday family dinner, but, this is the rest of us," Lara captioned the post, which opened the floodgates on the Noem comparisons.

The dogs didn't make the invite to Sunday family dinner, but, this is the rest of us 🖤💜 pic.twitter.com/8QDRwTouDw

— Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) June 3, 2024

The Cricket story sparked anger in animal lovers everywhere, so it's no surprise that social media wasted no time making jokes at the expense of Kristi Noem, who's been known to have a shady side while roasting Lara's post. "I hope you didnt leave your dogs with Kristi Noem ... jus sayin ..." tweeted one X user. An even lower blow arrived when another user tweeted, "Aww what happened? Did Kristi Noem shoot them?" Meanwhile, another user wrote, "Oh God. Tell me you didn't leave Governor Noem in charge." While observers weren't nearly as outspoken on the Instagram version of Lara's post, it's clear that the disdain for Noem was still going strong over a month after the Cricket scandal.

There's been significant chatter about whether Kristi Noem will score a seat on the Republican ticket as Donald Trump's running mate, but the Cricket controversy may have torpedoed her chances. Trump reacted to Noem's dog-killing scandal, and his comments could give some indication to his feelings about her character. "I think [Noem's] terrific. A couple of rough stories, there's no question about it," Trump said during an interview with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton in May 2024 (via The Hill). "And when explained — the dog story, people hear that and people from different parts of the country probably feel a bit differently ... She had a bad week."

However, there have been conflicting accounts regarding Trump's feelings about Noem's questionable actions. According to an earlier report by CNN, the former president had already shifted his focus to other potential VP candidates before Noem's streak of negative press. "He soured on her long before this," shared a source. As for why? Trump reportedly had qualms about some of Noem's choices, which weren't specified. While her chances of becoming the Republican VP pick were looking good for a brief moment, the overwhelmingly negative reaction to her book scandal certainly didn't help Noem's chances at a future in the White House. "It is totally disqualifying," added the source.