You take the most flak when you're over the target, and it appears South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem may be directly over the target — if recent media attacks are any indication.
Media outlets like CNN and The Guardian joined the Democratic National Committee in blaring headlines denouncing Noem's new book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward."
In "No Going Back" Noem recounts when she killed her pet dog named Cricket.
Noem may be pretty but she's also tough. She is lashing back, saying the criticism from liberal elites lacks awareness of "time on a farm."
"We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm," Noem wrote on X in response to media attacks.
"Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years."
Book sales have been soaring, and the governor has been quick to mention this fact.
"If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that'll have the media gasping, preorder 'No Going Back,'" she posted on X.
The book is set for release on May 7, but pre-order sales have already made it a bestseller in three Amazon categories.
Noem supporters say the media venom is happening because she's a top candidate to become former President Donald Trump's vice-presidential running mate.
One CNN Democrat analyst claimed Noem committed VP candidate "suicide" by killing Cricket.
Noem wrote Cricket proved "untrainable" after myriad attempts to keep her from being an "assassin" that was "dangerous to anyone she came in contact with."
"At that moment, I realized I had to put her down," Noem wrote.
The DNC seized on the excerpts, calling them "horrifying" and "disturbing."
"If you want elected officials who don't brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners — and vote Democrat," the DNC wrote in a statement.
Noem, who opened as a betting odds favorite to be Trump's VP the morning after Trump clinched the delegates to be the presumptive GOP nominee, has fallen to fourth behind even former Hawaii Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, according to PredictIt.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are favored over Gabbard and Noem by PredictIt.
Also, Politico has issued a memo on a "Noem Puppy Murder" poll, targeting Noem's story about putting down her dog and a goat on the farm.
The poll of 1,156 Americans nationally came together very quickly Friday after the scathing headlines in liberal media, with the memo declaring 81% of Americans disapprove of Noem putting down her aggressive dog.
But the snap poll results aside, conservatives continue to see Noem as one of the favorites.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) poll taken at its annual conference last February had Noem tied with Vivek Ramaswamy as the conference's top pick for Trump's vice-presidential candidate.