Former South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem was once best known for bragging about killing a puppy and a goat, suggesting shooting President Biden's dog, her disastrous performance as Governor during the COVID pandemic, and being banned by every Indigenous tribe in South Dakota.
But now that Noem's been named Donald Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), she's working on furthering her reputation for putting her foot in her mouth on live news broadcasts and getting owned for her blunders.
In a Sunday appearance on CNN's State of the Union, Noem inadvertently told host Dana Bash and the international audience watching that the Trump administration can't be trusted.
You can watch the interaction here:
CNN's Bash told Noem:
"I do want to ask a couple of quick questions. The Washington Post is reporting that Musk and his DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] team have access to FEMA's sensitive disaster data, which includes personal information about tens of thousands of disaster victims."
"Have you authorized Elon Musk and his team to have access to Americans' personal data that is housed inside DHS?"
Noem stated she had given Musk’s team access to Americans' personal data.
She then parroted the standard Trump administration rhetoric about efficiency and waste being best determined by Musk programmers rather than accredited forensic accountants and financial auditors.
But Bash interrupted Noem's spiel to state:
"But that's different from him having access to personal data that is housed in the—"
Noem quickly responded that the unelected, unconfirmed, unvetted Musk and team were OK because:
"The President has authorized him to have access."
Bash replied:
"And you feel comfortable with that?"
Noem responded:
"Absolutely."
Bash reminded Noem of the GOP's longstanding personal privacy campaign platform:
"I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about and worried about the government, particularly unelected people, having access to personal data."
Noem then went completely off script to state:
"Well, we can't trust the government anymore."
Noem seemed unaware of her making Bash's point for her, so Bash responded:
"You are the government!"
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People found Noem's latest self-own on brand for the Trump administration.
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This isn't the first time Noem and Bash have faced off.
In a 2022 appearance on State of the Union, Bash embarrassed Noem over her abortion stance.
Considering how nimble Noem is in live interviews, perhaps the Trump administration should consider keeping their DHS Secretary's on-camera appearances restricted to ones where she doesn't speak.
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