Trump says Gov. Kristi Noem 'had a bad week' when it comes to recent controversies

Former President Donald Trump said Gov. Kristi Noem "had a bad week" during an appearance on a conservative podcast, but stopped short of saying whether the controversies surrounding her recently-released book, "No Going Back," have affected her chances at being picked for vice president.

Trump was interviewed Tuesday on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show," with one of the topics being who he might pick for vice president — a choice he said he'd like to make during the Republican National Convention, which is set for July 15-18.

Trump refrained from throwing out any specific names, but said that "a lot of people are in play."

Travis then asked him specifically about Noem, and the recent backlash she's faced regarding both a story about shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog and a goat, and a false claim that she had met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

More: Did Kristi Noem shoot her dog? 'No Going Back' and its various controversies, explained

"Well, until this week, she was doing incredibly well, and she got hit hard," Trump said. "And sometimes, you do books and you have some guy writing a book, and you maybe don't read it as carefully."

Trump called Noem "terrific" and said "she's been a supporter of mine from day one" while praising her work as governor.

On the story about Noem's dog specifically, Trump said that "people from different parts of the country probably feel a little bit differently," though he admitted it was a tough story.

But Trump didn't give any clue as to whether Noem was still in the running for vice president, though he seemed at one point to catch himself from saying a bit too much.

"She's really done a great job, and, uh, in some form, I mean, I think, I think she's terrific," he stated.

"She had a bad week," Trump said. "We all have bad weeks."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Trump on Gov. Kristi Noem's recent controversies: She 'had a bad week'