Not content with being the face of Donald Trump’s war on immigrants, which delights his MAGA fans, Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem may be plotting out her next move, according to Salon’s Heather Digby Parton.
In a column on Friday, Parton documented Noem's rise from obscurity as a backbencher in Congress, representing South Dakota in the House, to governor and then her bid to be part of Trump’s administration after her vice presidential aspirations crashed and burned after she proudly admitted to shooting her puppy Cricket that she described as "worthless."
Digging into Noem’s past, Parton noted that the controversial DHS head rise to prominence began after she met former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, with whom she is rumored to be having an outside of the office relationship that the DHS head has called, “total garbage.”
According to Parton, Noem and Lewandowski targeted landing her the DHS job, sensing it would be a high profile position based on Trump's 2024 campaign promises.
As she wrote, “Trump apparently offered Noem her choice of the interior or agriculture departments, but she held out, telling him she wanted to run the department that was his top priority. He agreed.”
Pointing out that it appears Trump advisor Stephen Miller is calling the shots for DHS, with Lewandowski running the department, Parton wrote that Noem has happily settled into being the face of Trump’s signature policy in the belief that the exposure will raise her profile so she can make a White House run.
In Salon, Parton wrote, “... in the meantime, Noem and Lewandowski are working night and day together, preparing for the next step in her political career. She’s clearly swinging for the fences, and is almost certainly planning a run for president in 2028.”
She added, “When Noem was confronted about the reprehensible story of her shooting her dog, she responded that she told the story to illustrate her willingness to do anything 'difficult, messy and ugly.' In that regard, Noem is certainly proving her capability, and she is evidently counting on the fact that her image as the cold, remorseless executor of the plan to rid America of foreigners will launch her into the White House. They don’t call her ICE Barbie for nothing.”
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