In a live interview with Sarah Palin on Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie accused the former Alaska governor of taking a "cheap shot" at President Obama while defending herself against nasty attacks from animal rights group PETA: "You also talk about President Obama, saying that he tried dog meat when he was under ten years old in Indonesia. I have to ask you about that one, though, is that kind of trading cheap shot for cheap shot?"
Palin dismissed Guthrie's assertion: "Oh, heck no, that was the best line in the post that I wrote, it was the kick-off line. It was, 'Hey, PETA, chill. You know, at least Trig didn't eat the dog.' And, no, it also made a point that, you know, President Obama to many of the far-left radicals who are part of PETA, you know, they look at him as, I don't know, their messiah."
Palin was on to respond to PETA attacking her for posting a picture on social media of her six-year-old son Trig standing on his service dog to reach the kitchen sink. Guthrie began the exchange:
Well, on a serious note, you posted these photos of Trig, you thought it was a sweet image, actually, of your six-year-old son overcoming obstacles and finding a way to reach the sink. Instead, PETA fired back, calling you "a bizarrely callous woman,""It's odd that anyone, let alone a mother, would find it appropriate to post such a thing with no apparent sympathy for the dog in the photo." So I'll let you respond to the basic accusation. Did you think it was okay for a child to step on a dog?
Palin replied: "In this case, yes, because Trig's service dog is a strong trained dog that does really, really love his best buddy Trig and they put up with each other, and there was no harm at all to this dog."
Pointing to PETA's hypocrisy, Palin noted talk show host Ellen DeGeneres posting a similar photo on Twitter of a girl standing on a dog and being named woman of the year by the group.
Palin concluded: "So anyway, I thought, yeah, absolutely hypocritical, double standards as usual applied to, I don't know, perhaps a constitutional conservative."
Here is a full transcript of the January 6 interview:
7:40 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We are back now at 7:40. Sarah Palin once famously compared herself to a pit bull and now she's in a dog fight with the animal rights group PETA. It all began with these photos of her six-year-old son Trig stepping on the family's black lab to reach the kitchen sink. Well, PETA's president blasted those images. Palin fired right back, calling the group "double standard hypocrites" who can, quote, kiss her "okole." And the former Alaska governor, now a Fox News contributor, is with us now. Governor, good morning. Thanks, first of all, for giving me the chance to say "okole" on national television, adding to our vocabulary.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Sarah Palin Speaks Out; Battles PETA Over Pic of Son and Family Dog]
SARAH PALIN: Hey, good. Well, I'm glad that you looked it up and knew what it meant.
GUTHRIE: Well, on a serious note, you posted these photos of Trig, you thought it was a sweet image, actually, of your six-year-old son overcoming obstacles and finding a way to reach the sink. Instead, PETA fired back, calling you "a bizarrely callous woman,""It's odd that anyone, let alone a mother, would find it appropriate to post such a thing with no apparent sympathy for the dog in the photo." So I'll let you respond to the basic accusation. Did you think it was okay for a child to step on a dog?
PALIN: In this case, yes, because Trig's service dog is a strong trained dog that does really, really love his best buddy Trig and they put up with each other, and there was no harm at all to this dog. Ironically, PETA made my point, though, that I was making in the post, where I said, you know, life gives you what may be perceived as stumbling blocks, well, use them as stepping stones instead and may 2015, the new year, allow opportunity for that. And then that day I witnessed my own son using as a stumbling block, a stepping stone.
GUTHRIE: And you really call out Peter – PETA for hypocrisy, saying that it posted a picture that Ellen DeGeneres tweeted of a little girl standing on a dog and she was, of course, their woman of the year in 2009.
PALIN: Right, and Bristol had pointed that out to me because she's met Ellen and she really likes Ellen. But she said, you know, "Mom, look at this image, it's the exact same image, a kid using the canine as a step stool." And the outcry there with Ellen's posting was "oohs" and "ahhs" and "sweet," and then she became woman of the year for PETA.
And then, of course, man of the year, I think it was in just – last year, 2014, was Mayor de Blasio, and he had just – doggone it, he killed a groundhog when he dropped it last year on Groundhog Day.
So anyway, I thought, yeah, absolutely hypocritical, double standards as usual applied to, I don't know, perhaps a constitutional conservative.
GUTHRIE: Well, you know, you fire off some shots, you land some punches in this posting for the hypocrisy that you just mentioned. You also talk about President Obama, saying that he tried dog meat when he was under ten years old in Indonesia. I have to ask you about that one, though, is that kind of trading cheap shot for cheap shot?
PALIN: Oh, heck no, that was the best line in the post that I wrote, it was the kick-off line. It was, "Hey, PETA, chill. You know, at least Trig didn't eat the dog." And, no, it also made a point that, you know, President Obama to many of the far-left radicals who are part of PETA, you know, they look at him as, I don't know, their messiah. I don't know, I think he as a child, probably the same age as Trig, did much worse than just use the dog as a stepping stool.
GUTHRIE: Well, there are some areas of common ground. I think you said that you probably agree with PETA's true mission, respecting God's creation and critters. And PETA said they have no reason to believe that your household pets aren't ordinarily pampered. I mean, do I see maybe the makings of a peaceful resolution here, maybe get together, smoke the peace pipe.
PALIN: Well – smokin' the peace pipe – Well, I do respect, if that truly, sincerely is their mission, is to respect the sanctity of God's creation and all the critters, absolutely. You know, many of them, though, would never put up with what I believe in. And I believe that our resources here, including, in many cases, wild protein, animals are put here for man's responsible use and utilization. So I think that they would certainly disagree on the fact that I hunt, you know, I eat, therefore I hunt. And many of our meals are wrapped in fur not cellophane. And they probably wouldn't support me on that issue, but I believe there would be mutual respect and support if we can both agree that, yeah, God's creation here is really precious, very sacred, and we should do all that we can to conserve.
GUTHRIE: And real quickly, before I let you go, the name of the dog, Jill Hadassah, kind of unusual for a dog's name. How'd you guys come up with that?
PALIN: I had a roommate in college named Jill, loved her, always wanted a Jill. And then Hadassah, that's a Jewish name for Ester, I love in the Bible the Book of Ester. So finally, I mean, I didn't have a sixth kid, but had a dog that finally I got to use those names.
GUTHRIE: Well, she's a cute dog who's got a story behind the name as well. Governor Palin, thank you, it's always good to have you. Appreciate it.
PALIN: Thank you so much.
