“This is dangerous. What are you doing?” was one of the responses to Donald Trump after he agreed to nominate former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be his Department of Homeland Security director.
That is according to excerpts from a new book by journalist Jonathan Karl titled, “Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,” and published by The Guardian.
According to Karl’s reporting, Noem was given the nomination to a key government department that was to be tasked with fulfilling the centerpiece of Trump’s agenda: rounding up and chasing undocumented immigrants out of the country.
More to the point, Noem got the job because former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who has been linked to having an extramarital relationship with Noem, lobbied Trump to nominate her.
"Like Pete Hegseth, who landed the job of defense secretary, Noem, then the governor of South Dakota – who faced an outcry over her admission in a book that she once shot a pet dog – had not been on the transition team’s list of possible candidates and had not gone through vetting for the job, Karl writes in Retribution," The Guardian reported.
Pressed why he gave Noem the nod, Trump reportedly stated, "I did it for Corey. It’s the only thing Corey asked me for.’”
After Trump’s announcement, longtime Trump insider Steve Bannon was reportedly beside himself and told Karl, “We still got the global war on terror. She runs the whole thing? She runs the f*cking Secret Service? It’s all of it. It’s the global war on terror. It’s all that. What are you talking about? She’s never been in law enforcement!”
Bannon added, "This motherf*cker asked for somebody who’s obviously unqualified – and it’s dangerous. This is dangerous. What are you doing?”
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