Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump seemed to cringe during a recent interview when asked about the immense backlash against South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem in relation to her new memoir.

The former president shared his thoughts in a recent episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, where he defended Noem as a "terrific" person and supporter of his – but added that she "got hit hard" by non-stop bad press.

"Couple of rough stories, there's no question about it," Trump said.

"She had a bad week. We all have bad weeks."

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Noem has been facing relentless heat for a controversial excerpt from her memoir in which she tells the story of shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog Cricket because she believed he was "untrainable.

She has been repeatedly pressed in interviews about Cricket, some of which have gotten heated. Noem has also faced scrutiny for including a story in her book about meeting North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un with no evidence of this meeting having happened.

Trump had been considering Noem as a contender for his choice for a running mate, but when asked in the interview if she was still "in the mix," he responded, "Well, until this week, she was doing incredibly well."

In response to Trump's defense of Noem, a spokesperson for President Joe Biden said, "At the Biden campaign, we are proudly anti-puppy-killing and don't think those who murder puppies are 'terrific.'"