'Perfect scapegoat' Kristi Noem could regain her credibility by exposing Trump: analysis

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was fired by President Donald Trump on Thursday, but on Friday a columnist suggests she can regain her “self-worth” — by telling the truth about the misery of working for Trump.

“With her high profile and her efforts to prove how hard-core she was — for instance, accusing the two Americans gunned down by immigration officials in Minneapolis of being domestic terrorists — she made herself a perfect scapegoat for the administration’s unpopular immigration agenda,” wrote The New York Time’s Michelle Cottle. “No matter that some of her worst moments came as she tried to defend Mr. Trump’s morally indefensible policies. The president can now claim credit for firing a very bad employee, even as he and Mr. Miller continue promoting chaos and brutality.”

Cottle added that Noem’s tenure with Trump “was always going to end in tears,” although not because she was “the most incompetent, embarrassing or dangerous member of Mr. Trump’s cabinet.” Rather Cottle figured Noem was always doomed because the MAGA movement creates impossible standards for women to follow.

“She owed her post to her laborious transformation into a particular kind of ultra-MAGA woman who kicks butt while always looking picture perfect — superfeminine and superaggressive — a role that comes with built-in challenges and limited room for error,” Cottle wrote. “The more furiously Ms. Noem contorted herself to fit this Trumpworld mold and catch the attention of the MAGA guys, the more she risked earning the contempt of the very people she wanted to impress, especially the president.

Cottle concluded, “Then, when she outlasted her usefulness, she was casually sloughed off.”

The columnist then compared Noem’s plight to that of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who similarly put in a “swaggering performance” but had a falling out with the president and found him to lack loyalty to her for her past service. In response, Greene is now a fierce critic of Trump’s policies.

“Maybe Ms. Noem should consider a similar route, using her newfound freedom to tell the public how she really feels about what she was asked to do and defend in Mr. Trump’s name,” Greene said. “She might even claw back some of that self-worth she gave up along the way.”

Adrian Carrasquillo, a journalist for the conservative publication The Bulwark, observed that Noem has already made at least one “startling confession” — namely, that “her department had arrested and deported DACA recipients—the ‘Dreamers’ who are shielded from deportation and have had work authorization since 2012—at unacceptable levels.” Noem also has potential secrets to reveal about her alleged affair with top aide Corey Lewandowski.

"Secretary Noem, at any time during your tenure…have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?" Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) asked Noem during a Senate hearing earlier this week.

Noem replied, "That is garbage and it is offensive that you have brought that up.”

Kamlager-Dove responded, "It is about your judgment and decision-making.”

Despite her recent termination, Noem may still be forced to answer more questions under oath in the Senate. According to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), “Her firing doesn’t absolve her or relieve her of potential liability for perjury, and we are going to pursue an investigation of the evidence that she lied, because it relates to corruption in the administration.”