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Vice President JD Vance has waded into the controversy surrounding Twitch star Hasan Piker, slamming the streamer for allegedly using a shock collar on his dog during a livestream, and calling it proof that he’s a “terrible person.” The remarks came during Vance’s appearance on Pod Force One, hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine. While discussing his own dog’s behavior, Devine joked, “You don’t have to zap him like Hasan Piker?” referencing a viral clip that appeared to show Piker using a shock collar to keep his dog, Kaya, still during a stream. Piker denied the allegation, insisting the collar only vibrates and does not deliver electric shocks. Still, the video sparked a wave of criticism online, with some users resurfacing old clips to accuse Piker of mistreating his pet. “Wasn’t that disgusting?” Devine asked Vance during the exchange. “No electrocution of dogs here — very disgusting,” Vance replied. “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. If you mistreat dogs, that’s almost a 100% sign you are going to be a terrible person.” Vance went on to draw a broader link between animal cruelty and character, saying, “If somebody is really mean to animals — it’s like the Jeffrey Dahmer thing. Every serial killer ever has been really bad to animals. That’s sort of how they started.” Hasan Piker Fires Back Piker quickly responded to the vice president’s comments on X (formerly Twitter) by bringing up DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's dog shooting controversy, writing: “DHS secretary Kristi Noem point blank executed her puppy & dumped his body in a landfill?! None of these ppl care about animal welfare. The admin is shutting off 40m ppl’s SNAP benefits causing them to starve. They don’t care abt human welfare either.” The Kristi Noem Puppy Controversy Piker’s response referenced a controversy that erupted earlier this year over South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s memoir No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward. In the book, Noem recounted shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, after a disastrous pheasant-hunting trip. According to her account, Cricket disobeyed commands, ignored an electronic collar, and later escaped to attack a neighbor’s chickens, killing several. “She grabbed one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite,” Noem wrote. She described ultimately deciding to shoot the dog after it tried to bite her, saying, “I realized I had to put her down.” The story sparked national outrage, with critics calling Noem’s actions cruel and disqualifying for higher office. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.
