Kristi Creamed
I don’t have all that much to say about Kristi Noem finally being fired from her job as cosplaying DHS Secretary, a job for which she was woefully unqualified for and pretty corrupt in. The criticisms, massive faux pas and scandals have long been wallpapering her world, and at this point, with her being fired, somewhat expectedly albeit abruptly, it almost feels like beating a dead dog. Weirdly, the firing was announced by the White House while she was giving a speech, seemingly (and humiliatingly) unaware that she was, for all intents and purposes, talking into an unconnected microphone.
One thing I will note is a long tweet she posted after being fired. Her first paragraph, though, began –
“Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”
Actually, no, she was fired. Appointing her "Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas" (a position I suspect 99.9999999999% of Americans haven’t heard of) is the equivalent of telling a child after having put down their pet dog that "We sent him to live on a farm upstate."
Something she may know about.
By the way, the best line about this new "occupation" probably came from Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz who posted on Twitter, "Let me congratulate the former Homeland Security Secretary on her appointment to be the Shield of Americas, which I'm pretty sure the president came up with when he watched the last Avengers movie"
I also wonder what the status is of the $70 million loveplane she wanted to be ordered for her office. My guess is that it won’t be seen as absolutely essential as Noem has been trying to make it seem. But who knows? This is the Trump administration, where you don’t look a grift-horse in the mouth.
Yes, this is the Trump administration. Which is why it's critical, first and foremost, to put the timing of this change by Trump in perspective. Because this isn't just about who Trump wants as his head of the DHS, but...more to the point, just days after not only starting a war, but a war against a country known for launching deadly attacks on its enemies in their home countries, Trump decided, hey, what a great time that is to make a change in the person in charge of Homeland Security! And bring in someone without any experience in the field and without any time to prepare. Keep in mind, it's not like Trump didn't know a war was, all of a sudden, to his surprise, about to be started. And it's not like when he made the change, he didn't know there was a war on. From all reports, he gave Markwayne Mullin 30-seconds notice.
Cool.
So, rather than go on about the unqualified, incompetent Kristi Noem, instead, it's best to say a bit about the person who, without any experience in national security, is replacing her, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
On the positive side, Markwayne Mullin won’t go around the country changing costumes as he makes his rounds, as Noem did. So, on appearances only, it’s an improvement. But he’s a very far-right, belligerent, confrontational, wannabe thug who fits more in the Pete Hegseth mold. When defending Trump the other day, he said, “War is ugly, smells bad, and if anybody’s ever been there, and been able to smell the war that’s happened around you and taste it and feel it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget and it’s ugly." For the record, Mr. Mullin has never been in the military. Indeed, before getting into politics, he ran three family business, including Mullin Plumbing. Mullin also once told a story about a dispute in Congress where a Congressman was shot and killed in the hallway and suggested -- on camera -- that reporters might not write "um...fake stories" (before noting Trump and "fake news") if disagreements were settled the same way, by murder. After Renee Goode was killed in Minneapolis, Mullin said the people who should be investigated were not the agents who shot the innocent woman, but the "paid protestors and who who were paying them" for obstructing their work. And lest we forget when questioning Sean O’Brien of the Teamsters, Mullin threatened to get in a fight during the hearing, and it took 84-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders, sitting to his left, to cool things down. (You can see them in the freeze frame below, on your left.)
Mullin defended his action by saying, "It's silly, it's stupid. But every now and then you need to get punched in the face."
Just the qualities one is looking for in a Director of Homeland Security.
Not to mention he attacked fellow-MAGOP Rand Paul in a speech, after Paul had gotten into a fight with a neighbor, had six ribs broken and needed part of his lung removed. Mullin said, "Rand Paul’s a freaking snake. And I understand completely why his neighbor did what he did. And I told him that to his face." That could make his Senate confirmation hearing interesting. That's because the person chairing the hearing is... yes, Rand Paul.
Mullin, who was also an MMA martial arts fighter, also makes a lot of mistakes. A lot. Some from his statement of facts (whether knowingly or from ignorance, I’m not sure), and some because that’s just who he is. He's only saved in this by virtue of following Kristi Noem in her clown show. Jimmy Kimmel posted a video this week of Mullin just the other day referencing Trump attacking “Iraq” three times (at least he corrected himself twice…), rather than Iran, and also referring to Pete Hegseth twice as “President Hegseth” (he at least corrected himself once…).
Just the qualities one is looking for in a Director of Homeland Security.
What most surprises me, though, is that took the DHS job. He's young, only 48, and a senator in a very Red state. So, he basically had a job for life. Leaving the Senate and going to DHS, however, means that, at best, he has a job for 3 years. And at worst -- Trump might fire anyone for any reason at any time. I suppose that after the Trump administration ends (if he isn’t fired first), he could run for governor – although that won’t be for the election in eight months, which means (since a MAGOP is likely to win) the job won’t likely be open for another 8 years. He’ll still be young, though that’s a long time to be out of prominent public eye. Though possible.
The good news is that he's out of the Senate.
And so now, the changeover in leadership of Homeland Security is about to begin.
Days after starting a war. Against an enemy who many in Trump's team insisted to the public (whether true or not) was an "imminent threat" to the United States.
This isn't about Kristi Noem. And it isn't about Markwayne Mullin. It isn't even really all that much about Trump, we know who he is, with his 37% approval. It's about the MAGOPs in Congress who support and enable him and put the country at risk.
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