National Review Begs Trump to Fire Top MAGA Official: Preferably from a Rocket
On Monday, the National Review called Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem the most “incompetent” official in President Donald Trump’s administration, citing her comments about Saturday’s fatal shooting and pleading for her to be fired, ideally “in the sun.”
While the conservative magazine has broken with Trump over several issues before, writer Jeffrey Blehar maintains that Noem has become its biggest problem and has exacerbated sky-high tensions after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents shot and killed Alex Pretti.
“I will say this: Any hope of the Trump presidency climbing out of the hole it has dug begins with the firing of Kristi Noem, current Secretary of Homeland Security and the administration’s most prominent ‘travel disaster’ during its first year,” Blehar wrote.
He continued: “Preferably from a rocket and towards the sun.”
Blehar argued that the Trump administration urgently needs damage control after federal agents in Minneapolis were filmed disarming Pretti, who legally had a gun while documenting local protests, and fatally shooting the 37-year-old ICU nurse.
He argued that Noem has become the administration’s “most visible avatar of harm,” citing her claims during a news conference about the incident, and pleaded with Trump: “Stop the bleeding by canning his most incompetent lieutenant.”
Noem said Saturday at FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C.: “This individual who came with guns and ammunition to stop a police operation by federal agents committed an act of domestic terrorism. Those are the facts.”
Blehar responded Monday: “Oh, are they? Did Alex Pretti commit ‘domestic terrorism’ by being there? ‘This seems like a situation where an individual came to inflict maximum damage and kill law enforcement,’ Noem said. I’m envious of his mind-reading ability.”
He continued: “For my part, I saw a guy executed face down in the street.”
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Eyewitness videos captured Saturday appear to show Pretti filming an interaction between two women and a federal agent before about six agents tackled him to the ground and disarmed him. About 10 bullets were then fired into Pretti’s body.
On Monday, Blehar trashed Noem for allegedly displaying her “previously undisclosed powers of clairvoyance” by baselessly claiming that Pretti was trying to “kill law enforcement,” and continued to advocate for Trump to let her go.
“Trump doesn’t even have to fire her… but he can at least denigrate and demean her,” she wrote. “Kristi Noem should immediately become the least visible member of this administration. “I understand that Trump doesn’t like to admit defeat or error.”
Blehar went on to suggest in conclusion: “So instead, score a victory in this case by acknowledging that one of your subordinates has let you down and restore the public’s trust by taking it to the figurative gravel pit. Just my advice.”