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It was supposed to have been a relaxed family gathering, an Easter weekend dinner with the kids and grandkids at The Capital Burger, a family-friendly steakhouse located in D.C.’s fashionable Mount Vernon Square neighborhood (where the signature Capital Burger and fries will set you back $25).
And last Saturday night’s klatsch might have been just another family get-together, too… if a thief hadn’t spied a target of opportunity. He slipped by, casually picked up the handbag a woman had placed under her seat and made off with it without being noticed. He scored big, because inside was nearly $3,000 in cash, credit cards, and the photo ID badge the woman needed to get into her office at work.
Which was very embarrassing because the woman works at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and her job happens to be leading its 250,000-person workforce as its secretary.
(Though several security cameras caught the thief’s image, investigators are having a tough time identifying him because he was wearing a COVID mask).
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In many ways, the incident perfectly showcased Kristi Noem’s new life. Because whether it’s relaxing with relatives on a night off or appearing on the frontlines of the fight to clamp down on illegal immigration, Donald Trump‘s choice to lead his border war always winds up in the news.
And that, of course, is exactly where someone who supposedly harbors presidential ambitions wants to be…
The telegenic former two-term governor of South Dakota is rolling in press clippings these days. And though she remains widely unknown beyond the flat farmland of her home state and the cozy confines of the Beltway, that’s changing every day as Noem continues to display an uncanny knack for landing the media spotlight.
Remember years ago when FITSNews referred to Noem as the “anti-Nikki Haley?”
Talk about an understatement…
Also, unlike many in Trump 2.0, Noem’s spotlight is shining on a part of the president’s agenda which continues to receive broad-based support among the electorate.
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Noem has more than that going for her, though. The 53-year-old mother of three (she’s actually a grandmother, believe it or not) enjoys showing off a physique normally associated with someone half her age. She’s also not afraid to go full G.I. Jane when the situation requires.
At a time when her boss’s approval ratings are drooping, Noem’s record at DHS is one of the Trump administration’s bright spots. In fact, Trump referenced it earlier this week in pushing back against what he decried as “fake polls” underestimating his true political support.
Since taking the sprawling agency’s reins (DHS includes everything from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Secret Service), Noem has:
- Prioritized closing the Southern Border to the tidal wave of illegal immigrants experienced during the Biden administration
- Conducted a series of high-profile crackdowns on criminal aliens, including members of the dangerous Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, in places like New York, Boston, and Chicago
- Stepped up programs promoting cybersecurity and homeland protection
- Rebranded the border patrol app as “CBP Home” to expedite “self-deportations” where undocumented immigrants retain the possibility of legally returning to the U.S. at a later date.
- Launched a $594,600 YouTube ad campaign earlier this month aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. (With Mexico’s president now demanding its removal).
In the 100 days since Trump and Noem started working on it, illegal crossings there are down 71% from January – while February saw a 94% improvement over the same month last year.
That’s very important to someone with presidential ambitions, as polling across the board consistently shows Americans of all partisan stripes view securing the border as a top national priority.
Noem eagerly embraces her role as the public face of this crackdown. She clearly enjoys being photographed on the frontlines of immigration enforcement efforts, wearing body armor and toting high-caliber weaponry. That’s led critics to dismiss her as “Battle Barbie” or “Pistol Packin’ Mama” – yet should she opt to pursue the presidency in 2028, such visuals (and more importantly, the context in which Noem is providing them) would put her in good standing with many Republican primary voters.
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While Noem struggled to build a national profile during her tenure as governor, her time in South Dakota generally won her favorable reviews from her constituents and GOP activists in. That’s not surprising given the state’s conservative bent. Despite having had George McGovern as its U.S. senator for nearly two decades, prairie progressivism has long been out of style on the plains.
In fact, the one thing most Americans can tell you about her is that she bragged about having once shot and killed an unruly family dog in her 2024 autobiography “No Going Back.” It was largely seen as a bid to impress Trump with her toughness in hopes of being selected as his running mate. It didn’t work. Claims that she had an extramarital affair with long-time Trump inner circle member Corey Lewandowski—claims Noem vehemently denied—also hurt her chances (although polling at the time revealed more Americans were upset about the dog incident than the allegations of fooling around on the side).
Still, Americans have notoriously short memory spans – and they seem to be getting shorter by the day. By the time the next crop of GOP presidential contenders begins actively campaigning in 2027, Noem’s pooch screw of publicizing her pooch’s murder will be old news. But a Southern border that’s once again safe and secure? That would be immensely appealing to many GOP primary voters.
“All she’d have to do is point at the border and say, ‘I did that,’” a Republican strategist in Washington told us. “She can then go on to say, ‘If you like what I did there, just think what I can do with America’s other problems.’ That’s a campaign messaging gold mine.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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9 comments
Noem is a piece of trash. From enjoying the murder of innocent animals, to a photo op in front of prisoners in an El Salvadorian concentration camp where they are beaten, starved, and almost certainly killed, smiling and showing off her 50k watch. She is evil, as are her masters. This is the most un-Christian administration in the history of the country.
Taxpayers need to ask themselves, Why are you paying a foreign government to imprison people who have never been charged with a crime, much less convicted of a crime? Even if you are yourself callous enough to say, well, Trump says they are illegals, and I don’t care what happens to them. Does that justify torturing and starving them in a third-world hellhole in your name, paid for by you? History will not be kind to people like Noem and those who support them. At some point, Americans will not be able to stomach the evil being committed in their name. The rest of the people in the world already see America very differently than they did six months ago, and it is not a positive change of view. We are being lumped in with the likes of Russia and North Korea, and maybe they justifiably so. I never thought Americans would condone what we are seeing today.
Oh, I bet you think Mayorkas was just wonderful, didn’t you, commie? ICE Barbie might be a little cringy at times but at the core mission- what matters- she and Homan have been highly, highly effective at enforcing the laws of our nation. And I have no idea what you are talking about with “imprison[ing] people who have never been charged with a crime.” The crime was called, at a minimum, illegal entry, but usually accompanied by other more serious felonies.
How do you know the people we have imprisoned in El Salvador are in the US illegally? At last count, the majority have never been charged with or convicted of a crime. We have no clue who is there. And since there was no due process, there is no proof. But that said. It is one thing to deport people who are here without our consent and return them to their country; that is not the same as paying another country to imprison, torture, and/or kill them without any proof they deserve such treatment. That is just pure evil, like the camp in Auschwitz or the Gulags in Russia.
Amazingly, anyone you disagree with is a communist. I assure you, I am not. And as I said, at some point, the American people will be unable to stomach the evil being done in their name and on their dime. And at some point, the brain-dead who call themselves Christian in this country will wake up and realize this is the most un-Christian thing our government could do, short of just executing these people on the spot. Which I guess she would do if she thought she could get away with it. Just like the innocent animals she enjoyed “putting down.” And if you can’t justify rounding them up and torturing them or killing them in this country, how can you justify paying another country to do it for us? Again, this is evil and history will see it that way.
This blog is a joke. A complete, utter, pandering joke. I saw a comment that referred to it as a “right-wing National Enquirer.” Even that is probably too much credit. Why don’t you find your journalistic instincts and question the government once in a while. Just pandering nonsense.
Did you seriously just mention “her physique” in this article and comment that it is hard to believe she is a grandmother? Sir, might be time for you to retire from “journalism”.
“The President’s agenda which continues to receive broad-based support among the electorate”…..”at a time when her boss’ approval ratings are drooping”. So which is it?
Well, somebody sure has a boner for the dog killing Real Housewives looking Homeland Security secretary who can’t even secure her bag in a restaurant. Isn’t that special!
We have too many dogs in this country. I have no problem blasting a couple or three of them! Are you people serious? Your local animal shelters kills thousands of dogs and cats in this country every day. I did not hear Wanker Belch complain about the virtual genocide taking place on human babies in this country – called abortion. Get real. They eat dogs in foreign countries every day. Maybe we should open up some “fragrant beef” restaurants around here. I would definitely try the fare! Maybe a little cocker spaniel, or poodle . . . ?
So, as the owner of a sporting breed similar to the one Noem shot, let me describe how this went. Hey Crickett, come on girl, let’s go for a ride. Cricket gets excited, runs to the truck wagging her tail, and jumps in. When they reach the gravel pit, Noem gets out of the truck, opens the door, and lets Cricket out. Cricket starts running around, wagging her tail, and looking all over for a stick or something to play with. Noem quietly gets her gun out. Watches cricket play for a few minutes as she thinks about what she plans to do, then calls come on girl, lets go. Cricket perks her ears and starts running to the person she trusts the most in the world. As she gets close Noem blows her head off with the gun.
Does she feel regret or remorse? No, she goes back to the ranch and gets another animal and does the same thing. This is the type of person we are dealing with here. Anyone who can do that would kill a person in a heartbeat if she did not fear prison. Like so many in Trump’s orbit, no empathy, no concern for others. So it does not surprise me one bit that she used people packed into a torture camp as a backdrop for her photo op. I suspect she is a psychopath.
And yes, regretably, we have kill shelters all over this country. But I would not want any person who would take the job of executioner in a kill shelter to lead my country either. You have to be a dark, heartless person to take that job. I want to cry every time I think about some innocent pup with a wagging tail, cluelessly being led to his or her death.