DHS Secretary Kristi Noem may have jumped the gun just a little bit in characterizing Alex Pretti, the man who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent recently.
Now, there have been some interesting reports surfacing about Pretti's previous interactions with agents, but the media has bought into a martyr narrative, so this is all about optics now.
Regardless, Trump is standing by Noem, refusing to give in to the calls, even among Republicans, to have her removed from her post.
My regular readers know that I am not one to jump to any conclusions before I see all the facts.
In this case, Noem had called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” within hours of the shooting.
There is simply no way to have done a background check and have all the facts by then, not to mention the martyr angle being played by Democrats and the media, so it was no surprise to see this backfire on her.
According to several reports, her comments even frustrated DHS officials, who believed she moved too quickly, creating a PR nightmare for the department.
Her comments were not only criticized by Democrats but also by some Republicans who have been doing battle with Trump recently.
At the top of that list is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has been anti-Trump ever since he announced he was not going to run for re-election. At this point, he literally has nothing to lose, so he is firing both barrels over anything he does not like.
On Tuesday, Tillis hit Noem hard, stating, “What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job. I mean, really, it’s just amateurish.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is another one who has not held back on Noem, stating, “I voted for her. I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as the Secretary of Homeland Security. I would not support her again, and I think it probably is time for her to step down.”
When Noem was appointed to this post, I questioned her qualifications and made it clear that she was far from my first choice. That said, she started okay, but she clearly needs help with the PR aspect.
Noem loves the confrontational aspect of the job, but it backfired on her this time. Trump is not giving up on her.
When asked about removing Noem from her post, Trump stated, “No.” He then added that he believes she is doing a “very good job” in closing down the border.
I believe Noem’s future depends on how this investigation plays out, because if they find the agent’s actions unjustified, someone is going to have to take responsibility for the administration's initial reaction. If that does happen, I could easily see someone like Tom Homan being elevated to the position, an appointment I would definitely support.
