JD Vance has ripped those who mistreat dogs as “really terrible,” citing serial killers who start with animal cruelty—but not, notably, his mutt-murdering colleague Kristi Noem.
The vice president, 41, made the remarks on the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast, which was released Wednesday.
Vance told host Miranda Devine: “If you can actually cause suffering to an innocent animal, you’re probably the kind of person who doesn’t worry about suffering in people as well.
“And that’s been my experience. If you mistreat dogs, that’s almost a hundred percent sign that you’re gonna be a really terrible person.”
While Vance said the rule tended to apply to “every serial killer ever,” he stopped short of citing his close colleague, Homeland Security Secretary Noem.
The 53-year-old admitted in her 2024 memoir that she had shot her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, Cricket, after the dog killed chickens and tried to bite her.
“I hated that dog,” she wrote, adding she took Cricket to “a gravel pit” because “it had to be done.” She also admitted she once killed a “nasty and mean” goat.
Noem has failed to live down the barbaric anecdote, after which her name was eliminated from a pool of potential Trump running mates. South Park later portrayed a cartoon Noem gunning down dogs, a portrayal of her that she complained was “petty.”
Since releasing the book, she has defended her decision as legal and necessary, while insisting she “absolutely love[s] animals,” including in a Pod Force One interview last month.
Noem told Devine: “I absolutely love animals. I’ve always had dogs. I still have a dog that goes everywhere with me. And that situation there was hard.
“The dog [Cricket] was actively killing animals for fun, had been massacring chickens and then had tried to bite me and attack me.
“At that time, we had little kiddos around every single day in a hunting lodge we were operating. I knew that I needed to take responsibility for the situation.”
Vance had been talking about his family dog, Atlas, whom he claimed was a good judge of character.
“If Atlas responds well to [someone], if they like Atlas, we know they’re good people, but you can tell if somebody’s really mean to animals,” he said of the German shepherd.
He did not say whether he had introduced Atlas to Noem.
The Post’s podcast—hosted by Australian columnist Devine—launched in June and this week featured Vance at the Naval Observatory discussing faith, immigration... and dogs.
Vance has a history of slightly strange musings on podcasts. While guest-hosting The Charlie Kirk Show just after the conservative activist’s death, he pledged to honor his slain friend by no longer shouting at his wife, Usha.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
