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China's trade war with the US is unlikely to cool down this election year, so it's working on Europe instead
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting France in the first leg of his European Union visit.Xi's visit seeks to avoid tensions with the EU similar to those faced by Beijing and Washington.Xi's visit comes at a crucial time as the European Union prepares for elections.China has been on a diplomatic blitz with major world powers in the past few weeks, hosting US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Authority Blinken, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in April.
Now, it's Chinese leader Xi Jinping's turn to go on the charm offensive in his first state visit to the European Union in five years, with France as his first stop.
Xi is spending two days in France, where he is expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday before heading to Serbia and Hungary.
The Chinese leader's visit to France is important since the country is the European Union's second-largest economy.
It also comes on the heels of Blinken's trip to China late last month, where the two sides wrangled over a range of issues from trade to national security. They remain at odds and the disputes could heat up as the US elections near later this year, say analysts.
France, like the US and Germany, has been complaining about China's factory overcapacity, particularly in the green sector.
"I'm calling for an 'aggiornamento' because China is now in excess capacity in many areas and exports massively to Europe," Macron told La Tribune Dimanche, per a Bloomberg translation. Macron was using the Italian word for "update" as he called for a refresh in France-China ties.
Xi's agenda in Europe
So, what can we expect from Xi's time in Europe?
Xi is hoping to avoid the same sort of stress that Beijing is facing with Washington, said an expert.
"Xi will use his time with Macron to downplay China's ongoing support for Putin's war machine," Matt Geraci, an assistant director at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, wrote in a note on Thursday.
"He will also underscore that France and other European nations continue to benefit from economic engagement with China, and that they should pursue an independent course rather than following Washington's lead," Geraci added.
Macron, for his part, is expected to call on Xi to use China's influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, his office told the Associated Press.
Macron said in April last year that a big risk facing Europe is getting caught up in "crises that are not ours."
Furthermore, there are differences among EU countries when it comes to their China strategy.
"Beijing, cognizant of the increasingly apparent differences within Europe on countering China's subsidies in key industries such as EVs, aims to create wedges between member states to complicate the EU's anti-subsidy probe into Chinese EV imports," Geraci added.
EU elections are weeks away
The European Union is slated to hold elections for the European Parliament in June. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking a second term for the top job.
Von der Leyen, who is expected to meet Xi with Macron on Monday, slammed an "oversupply of Chinese subsidized goods" ahead of the gathering. She said China's trade practices are leading to unfair trade that are "market-distorting" and "could lead to deindustrialization in Europe."
China has pushed back on the West's claims of overcapacity, accusing the bloc of being protectionist and of trying to curb China's economic development.
Beijing is now trying to steer China's economy, which is in a painful transition from its reliance on real estate and lower-value manufacturing to the hot new sectors of EVs, lithium batteries, and solar panels.
The trade issues will "undoubtedly" be a key discussion issue, particularly since China is in an economic slump, wrote Léonie Allard, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council's Europe Center, in a note on Thursday.
Macron told the Economist in a recent interview that he is willing to continue working with China on "major global issues" and to bring China "back into line with international rules."
However, Europe — like China — isn't quite the same anymore, following years of economic malaise punctuated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
"2024 is not 2019, and there is much more clarity about the limits of viewing China as a trusted partner," Allard added, referring to the last time Xi visited France.
I started a business with my mom right out of college and we've grown it to 7 figures in revenue. I've never had a real job, and I love being my own boss.
Julia D'Agostino
Kate Pawlowski and her mother, Ann Lightfoot, built a home organization business together.Pawlowski has never worked another full-time job and grew Done & Done Home to $1.6 million in revenue.The mother-daughter duo makes it work using their opposite skill sets and living under one roof.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kate Pawlowski, a 37-year-old professional organizer in Montclair, New Jersey. It's been edited for length and clarity.
I've never had a real job. After graduating with a psychology degree in 2010, I went into business with my mom, Ann Lightfoot.
My only other work experience was at an ice cream store, where I learned I wanted an entrepreneurial life. I don't like taking orders from someone else and seeing the freedom the store owner had made me want to create that for myself.
Sometimes I think it would've been helpful to learn how other companies operate, but for the most part, I think it's a good thing I'm not burdened by thinking about how something "should" be done. I can just do what works best for us.
We first started a company that sold eyeglass necklaces and had some success, but we also started home organization work in 2012 as Done & Done Home. We realized we couldn't do both. Done & Done was bringing in more money, and we liked helping people more than selling a product.
What started as a mother-daughter duo organizing closets and hauling trash has turned into a successful business with 14 employees. In 2023, we generated over $1.6 million in revenue.
We got started through a friend
Pawlowski and Lightfoot.Julia D'Agostino
An interior designer friend told us about a client who had so much stuff in her home that he couldn't figure out how it would fit after a renovation.
We had always helped friends and family get their homes in order and agreed to work with her to help him out. She became our first paying client. We quickly discovered we could turn this into a business.
We learned we had opposite skill sets that matched perfectly. I was comfortable with tech, money, and design, while my mom was perfectly suited to handling the clients. She previously worked as a doula, and her experience shepherding clients through times of stress and great life change made the emotional side of organizing work second nature.
Shortly after starting our business, we discussed our new venture with a broker in New York who invited us to present our idea to over 100 brokers in her office. Clients started pouring in.
We expanded our business into online courses
We started helping brokers, designers, clients' friends, and family prepare their homes for the market, move, clear out estates, and generally organize.
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and we weren't able to go into homes as easily, we launched an online course, From Chaos to Calm: A Masterclass in Home Organizing, that sells for $99 and used Facebook Ads to spread the word. Running ads on Facebook has been integral to our business's success.
We also regularly use Instagram Reels to highlight our projects and organizational skills and provide insights into our day-to-day work. We've built an authentic connection with our clients, followers, and potential new customers.
Besides initially doing the organizing jobs, we've also done sales, operations, hiring, training, finances, and social media. I work 30-40 hours a week and am mostly focused on finances and marketing. My mom still oversees all clients and sales.
We balance work and family by living under the same roof
I have three young boys and, like lots of parents, I struggle to balance work and family, but because my mom and I live in a two-family home, bringing work home isn't a big deal. I often work on my laptop on the kitchen counter while my mom helps me with the kids.
Living in a two-family home has given us nothing but upsides. We rely on each other and have each other's backs, and one of us can run to the store if somebody needs milk. I absolutely love our setup, though I understand it's not for everyone.
My mom and I have always been close and are very open with communicating our needs to each other, so that helps.
The biggest piece of advice I have for anyone starting their own company is to know your math
I've noticed some small business owners are so busy handling day-to-day tasks that they don't take the time to understand the true financial workings of their company.
You need to ask yourself: Where are you finding new clients? What does it cost to get them? What is your percentage of repeat business? What is your profit margin? Do you have savings? Is there anywhere you are misspending? Knowing the answers to these questions can make or break you.
Decluttering a home can be very stressful, and the biggest thing we've learned is we all have too much stuff. The only way to keep a home running smoothly is to get rid of everything that isn't used, needed, or loved. We advise our clients to "watch the front door" and be mindful of what they bring in because the less you have, the less you have to declutter.
An American couple built a $1 million portfolio and retired in their 40s. Here's how they did it.
Courtesy of Jim White
Jim White retired at 43 with his wife after years of saving with a net worth of over $1 million.White said he wanted to spend more time with his family and valued having more freedom in life.The family moved to Panama and then traveled around the US while homeschooling their daughter.Jim White started dreaming about retiring early when his daughter was born in 2010. Like many new fathers in the US, he took just a week off from his office job to spend time with his newborn.
"My heart broke," he told Business Insider. "I wanted to be with her as she grew up and felt like work was in the way."
White, who worked as an engineering manager for an IT company in Ohio, told BI he couldn't see how he'd be able to quit his job without being "filthy rich."
He came across a blog by Joe Udo called "Retire by 40" in 2014. Udo, who was around the same age as White, detailed how he planned to retire early by aggressively saving and investing his 9-to-5 salary. If Udo could do it, White thought, maybe he could too.
They saved and invested better
White started researching the FIRE movement — Financial Independence, Retire Early — and pitched his plan to his wife, Lisa, who worked for a nonprofit.
The couple had already been saving but decided to ramp up their savings and investments. White was making $107,000 a year in 2014.
The couple had a net worth of $813,000 but started following the 4% rule, which says you should only retire early if you can live off 4% of your savings each year.
If they could build a portfolio of $1 million, they'd be able to use $40,000 a year on living expenses.
The couple built a portfolio of over $1 million
White said the main change he made was adjusting his investments.
"Although I had been socking away a lot of money into the 401(k) plan at work, I had just picked random mutual funds that seemed good because they showed some good performance in prior years," he added.
Analyzing his plan, he discovered one fund he was investing in was "very high cost" and switched from mutual funds to lower-cost index funds. By tweaking the funds he included in his plan, he told BI he saved around $65,000.
The hardest part was waiting, White said. Once they'd cut their expenses and changed their investments, they had to wait for their savings to accumulate. They also started saving 60% of his pay and living off the rest.
They retired and moved to Panama
By 2018, they had investments, assets, and savings worth over $1 million, according to financial documents BI has viewed.
They sold their house for $267,800 in 2018 and rented a nearby apartment for a few months. White retired at the end of the year aged 43 — Lisa had already left her job.
With their newfound freedom, the couple decided to relocate to Boquete, a small town in Panama, because of its warmer climate. "I've lived in Ohio pretty much my whole life, and I can't stand the winters," White said. "We moved to the mountains of Panama, and it was 75 degrees every day of the year."
They sold their car and most of their belongings and packed the rest into a storage unit. The family moved with their daughter, then nine, in July 2019. They rented a three-bedroom house in a gated community for $1,100 a month and didn't need a car. "We'd walk every day," he said.
They started homeschooling their daughter, intending to place her in an international school later. But, they ended up homeschooling her for the three years they lived in Panama, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They lived off around $50,000 a year, slightly higher than anticipated.
The couple moved back to the US to travel in an RV
They moved back to the US in April 2022. Since October, the family has been traveling around Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, and Arizona in an RV, which they bought but plan to sell after their trip.
"We've been spending incredible amounts of time as a family, just like I wanted, ever since," he said. "It's really been a dream come true."
When they're finished with their travels, they plan to move back to Ohio to give their daughter, who is now 14, some stability. "We've had our quality time together, and now she wants to spend more time with her friends," White told BI.
Lisa wants to live near family again and plans to return to work part-time.
For now, White is content to spend his time on hobbies like coding, learning Spanish, and writing his blog, "Route to Retire."
"Just because we're not working right now doesn't mean we don't plan to ever work again," White said. "It's just that we have that choice."
How Termina selected and ranked the 2024 Seed 100 and Seed 40 lists of the top early-stage venture capitalists
Termina; Nick Little for BI
Business Insider's Seed 100 and Seed 40 lists are created based on data from Termina.Termina began with data on over 1,800 investors, analyzing 25 success attributes, such as exits.The analysis identifies skilled investors with a high likelihood of continued success.The Seed 100 and Seed 40 lists are derived from a statistical analysis of investor track records. We've been working with Business Insider to publish these lists for the past four years, but this is the first year we're doing so under the Termina brand. Incubated by Tribe Capital, Termina is an AI-software platform that powers quantitative due diligence for leading investors around the world.
Our methodology is the same as it was in past years. It analyzes each investor's performance in 25 areas using Crunchbase and PitchBook data. Since one of our goals is to analyze investor's potential success rather than focus solely on past achievements, we only assess investors who have made a minimum of five investments between 2009 and 2024. Our list includes solo venture capitalists and angel investors who are assessed based on their investments in US companies.
To be named to the list, seed investors must have:
Investments that performed well, including successful IPOs or acquisitions (exits that were meaningfully above "liquidation preference" or showed increased company value rather than simply raising capital).
Show intermediate signs of future success with seed investments that consistently receive follow-on investment.
Be active in the seed-investing ecosystem, with moderate-to-high levels of activity over the past two years.
Though each criterion is weighted equally, exits (IPOs or acquisitions) statistically have the most influence in differentiating investors.
Over 1,800 investors met the above criteria, an 18% increase from last year. The seed-investor ecosystem grows every year, making the list more competitive. We're also delighted that there were 187 female candidates with sufficient data, a significant increase that allowed us to release an expanded Seed 40 list this year. Ten percent of all seed investors in scope were women, up from 8% when the first Seed 100 was released in 2021.
The final rankings had 35 new investors, 21 who improved their rank, and 39 with the same or lower rank as last year.
AI is storming seed investing and beyond
One reason we look at seed-stage investments is because they tend to be leading indicators of innovation in the coming years. OpenAI released their GPT-4 model just over a year ago. The model reached an inflection point of capability that has ignited the imagination of entrepreneurs and investors worldwide. The result in just one year is the largest-ever rebalancing of how investors allocate seed capital across sectors. In our analysis, AI tech receives over 16% of all seed-investing capital, with a significant jump in the 12 months following GPT-4's release.
In the chart below, we show five seed-investment categories to contextualize the growth of AI investment. This is not an exhaustive view of seed-investment sectors. In this view, though there has been a steady expansion of AI investing at the seed stage, the jump last year clearly stands out.
Source: Crunchbase and Termina analysis. The presented categories are not mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive. Figures presented are the rolling annual fraction of total seed investment in the USA and Canada.Termina
We believe AI will allow more seed-stage companies to bring products to market with less capital, similar to how cloud computing accelerated processes and reduced the capital required to launch products. If true, this will make seed-stage investing even more critical as AI begins to form the infrastructure that launches new tech products and services.
Jake Ellowitz is the chief technology officer and cofounder of Termina.
Hundreds of thousands of fish died in a single reservoir in Vietnam, another sign of how climate change is strangling the economy
STR/AFP via Getty Images
A prolonged drought in southeast Asia contributed to massive fish deaths in southern Vietnam.The climate crisis and human development threaten the Mekong Delta, a key global agricultural center.Despite infrastructure measures, some farmers are still struggling to access water.A weekslong drought across parts of southeast Asia has killed hundreds of thousands of fish in a reservoir in Vietnam and pushed a key metric for coffee prices to record levels — just two indicators of the kind of havoc the climate is wreaking on people and the economy.
In Vietnam, the maze of wetlands that comprise the Mekong Delta is called the country's "rice bowl" because of the vast agriculture it supports. The climate crisis and human development threaten the water the region relies on, especially in El Niño years like this one.
As Vietnam's freshwater levels drop, salt water intrudes, causing massive economic devastation. From 2020 to 2023, the Mekong Delta lost 70 trillion Vietnamese dong, or $2.96 billion, annually because of salt intrusion, the country's Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment said in mid-March. Those figures are expected to climb in coming years, the ministry said.
While Vietnam is no longer a heavily agricultural economy, the industry still accounted for about 12% of its GDP last year, according to the World Bank.
It's too early to know exactly how this year's drought, exacerbated by El Niño, will affect harvests and exports. But early gauges indicate trouble for at least one key export. Vietnam's coffee association said in late March that exports of robusta coffee — the bean used in espresso and instant coffee — could decline as much as 20% in the 12 months ending in September, compared with the same period last year. Vietnam is the world's largest robusta producer, and futures prices for the bean hit a 16-year high last week.
Meanwhile, in southern Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of fish died in a reservoir last month as temperatures peaked over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and no rain fell for weeks, the AFP reported. Residents blamed the weather and the reservoir's management.
Business Insider could not locate the owner of the reservoir for comment.
Residents blamed the heat and the reservoir's management for the mass die-off.STR/AFP via Getty Images
Irrigation measures, including those put in after a disastrous 2020 drought, have helped keep much of the Mekong Delta wet despite the widespread dryness, reported the Mekong Dam Monitor last week. The group, run by a US think tank, highlighted that two southern provinces still had "extreme dryness" — and those areas are harvesting crops this month, the group said.
Water levels are below average in 13 of the country's 24 monitoring stations, largely in the far north and far south, according to the intergovernmental agency Mekong River Commission.
While Vietnam has built significant infrastructure to combat increasingly brutal droughts, farmers told local media last month they're still struggling. Some of the reservoirs they need to tap are contaminated with chemicals like alum, while other irrigation options are costly. A farmer in a central province said two acres of his rice burned from the drought.
"Every year we harvest about 18 bags of rice, each bag is 60 kilograms, but this year there is a lack of water, so maybe we'll only get a few bags," Ksor Phung told VnExpress.
At least three provinces declared states of emergency last month, asking for government help to address water shortages and salinity problems.
The drought in Vietnam underscores how the climate crisis is hitting agriculture worldwide. Lower and less predictable crop yields can translate to lower productivity, higher inflation, and worse nutrition, among other issues.
Ukraine will have to wait till 2025 to mount a counteroffensive against Russia, US national security advisor says
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images
A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia isn't on the cards until 2025, says Jake Sullivan.Russia will make advances in the "coming period" even though US aid to Ukraine is coming, he said."You can't instantly flip the switch," Sullivan said.Ukraine may have gotten their long-awaited US aid last month, but a counteroffensive against Russia won't be on the cards until 2025, says US national security advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan was speaking at The Financial Times Weekend Festival in Washington on Saturday when he offered his assessment of the Ukraine war.
Ukraine, Sullivan said, will still be able to "hold the line" and withstand Russian attacks through 2024 with the aid that's coming from the US. But Sullivan said he still expects "Russian advances in the coming period" as it will take some time for US aid to reach Ukraine.
"You can't instantly flip the switch," Sullivan told festival attendees.
A counteroffensive, where Ukraine can "move forward to recapture the territory that the Russians have taken from them," will only take place in 2025, Sullivan said.
Ukraine's defense ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
Sullivan's remarks on the war come at a precarious time for Ukraine. Besides dealing with repeated calls from the GOP to halt US aid, the country is also fending off an invigorated Russian army.
"The army is actually now larger — by 15 percent — than it was when it invaded Ukraine," US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli said in a House Armed Services Committee hearing on April 10.
"The severity of this moment cannot be overstated: If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose," said Cavoli, who is also NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
Last month, the House of Representatives finally approved more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. The bill was delayed for months due to staunch GOP opposition. In fact, when the bill was passed on April 20, 112 Republicans voted against it.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the incoming aid will provide little immediate relief for the Ukrainians.
This, the ISW said, is because the Russians are still able to "take advantage of the limited window before the arrival of new US aid" to ramp up their attacks.
"The frontline situation will therefore likely continue to deteriorate in that time," the US think tank wrote.
Sony retreats from Helldivers 2 account linking for PSN after fan outrage
Are iPhone sales growing or shrinking in China? That depends on which data points you look at, says an analyst.
Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images
Tim Cook said iPhone sales grew in China, despite external research showing a decline.The discrepancy may be due to different methods of calculating revenue used by Apple and analysts.China accounted for 18% of Apple's sales, making it a critical market for the tech giant.Apple told investors on Friday that iPhone sales grew in China in the first three months of the year, a surprise to analysts who had dissected industry reports in recent months that appeared to show the opposite.
The difference may stem from how Apple and external analysts calculate revenue.
"We still saw growth on iPhone in some markets, including mainland China," CEO Tim Cook said on Apple's Friday earnings call.
The company's revenue for greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, declined 8% in the quarter year-over-year, to $16.4 billion.
Cook, citing data company Kantar, said the two best-selling smartphones in urban China during the quarter were the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
However, over the last quarter, independent analysts have reported a slump in overall iPhone sales in China. For the quarter that ended on March 31, Counterpoint Research reported a 19% year-on-year decline in iPhone sales in China, and the International Data Corporation found that iPhone shipments fell nearly 10% for the region during the same period.
iPhone sales in China are a closely watched metric because greater China accounted for 18% of Apple's sales across products in the first quarter, according to the earnings results. Across regions, sales of the smartphone made up over half of the tech giant's net sales, dwarfing contributions from the Mac, iPad, and wearables.
Cook's limited remarks on China's iPhone sales raised questions on Friday's call from analysts who compared Apple's data with independent reports.
"The simple question is, when we look at the data points that have been repeatedly reported throughout the course of this quarter, I'm curious, Tim, you know, what are we missing?" asked Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers.
Cook declined to comment on third-party data points on the call.
Analysts at the research firms said the difference comes from how analysts and Apple calculate revenue.
In the first quarter, "we tracked a year-on-year decline in total value generated by iPhones in China," IDC analyst Will Wong told Bloomberg after Apple's results.
The average selling price plays a key role in explaining the difference. IDC counted the prices customers paid, while Apple likely uses another price level, such as factory price, in its financial reporting, Wong said.
The discrepancy may also come from newer and more expensive models making up a bigger portion of purchases, which could drive up revenue, even if total unit sales declined.
Cook, who visited China in March, remained optimistic about the region, a key center for Apple's manufacturing, in addition to its sizable customer base.
"I maintain a great view of China in the long-term. I don't know how each and every quarter goes and each and every week," Cook said on Friday's call. "But over the long haul, I have a very positive viewpoint."
Brooke Shields says the high cost of living in NYC might work in her favor by keeping her kids at home for longer
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Brooke Shields, who has two college-age daughters, is learning to deal with empty nest syndrome.However, she says that New York City's high cost of living might help keep her kids at home for longer.After all, more and more Gen Zs are choosing to live with their parents to save money.Brooke Shields is dealing with empty nest syndrome now that her two daughters, Rowan Francis Henchy, 20, and Grier Hammond Henchy, 18, are all grown up.
During an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham," the actor spoke about her close relationship with her children, whom she shares with husband Chris Henchy.
"You know, the minute my husband is on any type of work trip or gone or something, they still sleep in the bed with me," Shields told cohost Julia Cunningham. "We still would watch romcoms. They're my babies, you know, and they will never not be."
Shields' eldest daughter, Rowan, is already in college, while her youngest daughter, Grier, will be moving out soon — leaving the actor an empty nester.
"I've been avoiding thinking of it, because people will say to me, 'Oh, you're gonna be so relieved,' and I just don't see it happening," the "Blue Lagoon" actor said.
However, Shields — who lives in the West Village of Manhattan — says she knows her kids are "still going to come back" to their family home.
"And by the way, the cost of living just in this city is so prohibitive anyway that it may work in my favor," Shields said. "Maybe I'll start charging them rent though. That might be a good idea."
After all, more Gen Zs are choosing to live with their parents to save money: According to Pew Research, 57% of those aged between 18 to 24 in America are living with their parents, up from 53% in 1993.
This isn't the first time that Shields has spoken about her children leaving for college.
In August 2022, Shields posted an Instagram video about her eldest daughter going back to school after summer break.
"I just had to wave my daughter goodbye again," Shields said in the video while wiping away her tears. "I thought it would be easier the second time because she's already been away, and she's been with me all summer, but…"
Shields also isn't the only celebrity mom who has spoken about dealing with an empty nest. In March, Gwyneth Paltrow shared that the idea of becoming an empty nester was making her anxious.
"It's kind of giving me a nervous breakdown, if I'm honest. I started being like, 'Oh my God, and I need to quit my job and I need to sell my house and I need to move.' It's sort of putting things into turmoil," Paltrow said.
A representative for Shields did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Kristi Noem, who told a bizarre story about shooting her pet dog Cricket, suggests Biden's bitey dog Commander should have met a similar fate
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images; Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images
Joe Biden should've done something about his bite-prone dog, Commander, says Kristi Noem.Noem came under fire recently for saying she shot her 14-month-old family dog, Cricket."Commander, say hello to Cricket for me," Noem wrote in her memoir.Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota was hit with a deluge of criticism for saying she shot her family dog.
But the GOP politician said on Sunday that President Joe Biden should take a leaf out of her playbook when it comes to pet care.
"Joe Biden's dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people. So, how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do with it?" Noem said of Biden's family dog, Commander, in an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Commander bit US Secret Service agents on at least 24 occasions, CNN reported in February, citing documents it had obtained from the USSS. The German shepherd, a gift from Biden's brother and sister-in-law, was removed from the White House in October.
Noem, however, was evasive when host Margaret Brennan asked if she was suggesting that Commander be shot too.
"That's what the president should be accountable to," Noem told Brennan. "What is the number?"
Host: At the end of the book you say, the very first thing you would do if you got to the WH that was different from Biden, is you would make sure Biden's dog was nowhere on the grounds. Commander say hello to cricket. Are you trying to look tough? pic.twitter.com/oAlQBHDCmd
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 5, 2024Representatives for Noem and Biden didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
Noem was widely criticized after she revealed in her forthcoming memoir, "No Going Back," that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket for being "untrainable" and "dangerous," per an excerpt obtained by The New York Times.
"I hated that dog," Noem wrote in her book, which is set to be published on Tuesday.
In her book, Noem also referenced Commander, and suggested that the Bidens' dog meet the same fate Cricket did. The South Dakota Republican wrote that the first thing she would do if elected president would be to make sure that Commander is "nowhere on the grounds."
"Commander, say hello to Cricket for me," Noem wrote in her memoir, per an excerpt obtained by CNN.
The strange tale of Noem's dead dog comes at a crucial moment for GOP vice-president hopefuls and in the middle of an intense fundraising season. Former President Donald Trump's campaign said it raised more than $76 million in April, Politico reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
And even though Trump is facing multiple lawsuits, several GOP politicians have been eagerly positioning themselves as his potential running mate.
Noem, who was reelected governor in 2022, is one of many contenders on Trump's list, which includes names like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Ohio's Sen. JD Vance.
"I will do everything I can to help him win and save this country," Noem said of Trump when she endorsed him in September.
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“iStart Valley is an incredible resource for anyone with an early stage start up to gain some technical knowledge revolving around business model and commercializing your product. Their weekly session will give you the vocabulary you need to speak with authority to clients, customers, and in.”
“The road was not an easy one. I had to keep my day job for two years, which slowed me down considerably. Three important things kept me going: first, ending second at Startup Weekend validated my project. Second, iStart Valley gave me invaluable moral support, and its educational workshops and.”
“iStart Valley has a completely revolutionary process as to how to assist start-ups in getting started and be prepared for success. They bring you some of the best resources and as long as you bring a good ethic, you will be set up for success. They introduce you to some of the most seasoned.”
“iWe are making significant progress continuing to work with iStart.”
“The workshops & educational resources at iStart Valley will help you to create a successful business from a simple idea. Their invaluable source of contacts is instrumental to any startuper in the North Florida area. I highly recommend all entrepreneurs to get in touch with them. It rea.”
“MomentStrong feels very fortunate to be associated with the iStart Valley team. We participated in workshops, training sessions and other events. They even helped connect us to potential investors. I think my favorite part has been the camaraderie and sense of team with all the other entrep.”
“The personal attention, guidance and mentoring from iStart Valley helped us in understanding the startup ecosystem and coming up with the best strategy to develop a world-class enterprise level product. We are fortunate to collaborate with them in our journey towards success and look forward.”
“iStart Valley program has a one-of-a-kind schedule flexibility that's perfect for bootstrapped and early-stage startups. Their structure helped me fit the meetings and online assignments around my day job, family, and other responsibilities. It's covers all the best practices you.”