Featured Image Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: JD Vance, Animal Cruelty, Politics, Dogs
Emily Brown
Topics: JD Vance, Animal Cruelty, Politics, Dogs
Warning: This article contains discussion of animal cruelty which some readers may find distressing.
Vice President JD Vance appeared to put his foot in it in a new interview when he claimed only 'terrible' people mistreat dogs - despite his cabinet colleague Kristi Noem having previously admitted to such behavior.
Vance made his comment on a recent appearance on the Pod Force One podcast, where he joined host Miranda Devine to discuss everything from President Donald Trump to UFOs.
At one point during the conversation, the pair began discussing controversy which currently surrounds Twitch streamer Hasan Piker after viewers spotted his dog yelping during one of his livestreams.
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The video sparked concern that Piker's dog was wearing a shock collar, but the streamer has denied this, claiming: “She yelped because she f**king clipped herself on something when she was getting off the bed."
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As Vance and Devine spoke about the incident, the host asked the VP his thoughts on what an ability to hurt a dog may reveal about the pet's owner.
Vance then spoke his mind as he responded: “I think it tells you that they’re bad people."
Vance continued: "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 a 100 percent sign that you’re gonna be a really terrible person.”
The vice president is a dog owner himself to a German shepherd, named Atlas, and he even went as far as to make reference to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer while discussing abuse against animals.
He said: "That’s one of the ways to really, sort of, test people… If Atlas responds well to them, if they like Atlas, we know they’re good people but, you can tell if somebody is really mean to animals.You know, it’s like the Jeffrey Dahmer thing. Like every serial killer ever has actually been really bad to animals, that’s sort of how they started. I remember the Freddy Krueger movies when I was a kid… Well, how did Freddy Krueger [get] his start? One of the things they show is young Freddy Krueger torturing animals...
“If you’re not taking care of God’s creatures then you are certainly going to be, I think, a pretty bad person in other ways too.”
After Vance's interview was released, Piker was among the listeners who noted that one of Vance's colleagues, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, has previously admitted to shooting her own family dog, Cricket.
In her 2024 memoir, No Going Back, Noem described taking the family dog on a hunting trip, after which she began attacking some pet chickens.
“I hated that dog,” Noem wrote, before adding: "At that moment. I realised I had to put her down.”
Noem's admission sparked controversy from animal lovers, and was referenced by Piker in response to Vance's interview as he wrote: "DHS secretary kristi noem point blank executed her puppy."
UNILAD has reached out to Vance for comment.