Trump Accidentally Admits He's Completely Clueless Amid Kristi Noem Firing

The grilling congressional hearing of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem this week was embarrassing enough for President Donald Trump to officially kick her to the curb. Trump had always been a staunch supporter of Noem, even at her worst – her biggest scandal may have actually convinced him to hire her. However, the revelation of the price tag behind Noem's $220 million ad campaigns was apparently news to Trump, leading to her swift dismissal.

After announcing her replacement, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, in a post on Truth Social, Trump took to NBC to share his first public comments regarding Noem. Describing her as "a fine person" who "did a good job," the change in tone towards the ICE Barbie feels chilling. When discussing the ad campaign budget he allegedly approved, Trump said: "I wasn't thrilled with it. I spent less money than that to become president. I didn't know about it."

The fact that Noem could casually spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars without Trump's knowledge says a lot about the internal affairs of the administration, and his insistence on ignorance reads less innocent and more completely clueless. White House insiders had been hinting that Noem's departure from DHS was imminent since December, but leaving Trump blindsided certainly sped up the process. How will the admin win their rigorous "War on Fraud" when they can't even keep track of their own finances? 

During President Donald Trump's first term in office, it seemed as though his administration was locked into a four year game of musical chairs. A research report, "Tracking turnover in the Trump administration," published by Brookings, highlighted how, by 2021, Trump's team had seen the highest turnover rate since Ronald Reagan.

However, after Trump's reelection, things seemed different. Trump's first term might have seen four consecutive chiefs of staff, but the president was just as willing as Susie Wiles to sweep her bombshell Vanity Fair claims under the rug. Considering that this budget bombshell is not the first awkward position Trump has found himself in, it feels strange that the congressional hearing was the nail in the coffin for Noem. Other job requests, such as luxury private jets for her and Cory Lewandowski to use amidst affair rumors, clearly showcased that budgeting and optics were not a priority for the DHS secretary.

While Trump denied the notion of a "last straw" in his interview with NBC, Noem's dismissal can't help but feel like a convenient excuse to elevate a new favorite. Loyalty has always been a big deal for Trump, even mandating it as a prerequisite for federal hires. Implicating Trump in the gross mismanagement of funds clearly wasn't a ride-or-die move; although she's been grasping at the silver lining of the situation, she isn't the first (and won't be the last) to fall out of the president's good graces.