President Donald Trump raised a few eyebrows and set off a wave of social media ridicule at an event Thursday in Washington, D.C., where he was thanking his staff for their help in the federalization of the Washington police department in a takeover related to crime reduction as dozens of federal law enforcement officers looked on.
“Where’s my Kristi?” the president asked, looking around for his Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, after praising “popular” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and “greatest” Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“There you are, dear,” he gushed when he saw her. “Thank you very much. She’s been incredible. And she can ride a horse like nobody. She gets on those horses, she rips those horses around,” Trump fawned.
What? What the hell is he talking about?
Those patronizing remarks about her prowess with horses were kind of a put down in way and undercut her authority as DHS chief in front of members of Homeland Security, the FBI, DEA, US Marshals, ATF and Secret Service, who were all listening.
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Does he hear himself when he talks? I’m laughing so hard. I’m gonna pee my pants,” Ronda Vogts wondered on Threads.
“I just don’t get it! I don’t f#cking get it! Most cult leaders are at least charismatic!” Threads user Art Gar said. “How does anyone listen to this & think he should be leading anything except the way to the pudding line at the retirement home! Are they all brain dead?!”
“She’s his now? Someone call HR. This is sexual harassment.” this Threads poster didn’t mince words. Many found Trump’s pet name for Noem both “gross” and “creepy.”
“The statesman speaks to the nation ‘my Kristi, dear’ … what a patronising old fool! The sexual undertones are revolting … how does he treat women in the privacy of his office? Well, we all know the answer to that!” Peter Swales observed.
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“She does what with horses? Is this a “Catherine the great” reference?” another shocked Threads user commented.
“Where were you on JANUARY 6TH!” still another social media poster wondered about Trump’s event with Washingto federal agents.
Noem, a former South Dakota governor and rancher, has plenty of experience on horseback and has showcased herself many times atop horses for media ops since taking office earlier this year.
She saddled up with a U.S. Boder Patrol unit shortly after she was confirmed as DHS head and then in July she went galloping around in Argentina with the country’s security minister.
Also in July, Noem faced backlash for again showcasing pictures of herself astride a horse and asking for feedback on social media on which shot South Dakota officials should hang in the capitol in Pierre.
But whomp, whomp. After such fawning over by Trump, Noem found herself handing out pizza alongside U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro (also not a good look for the chief of Homeland Security). That’s a long way from the glamorous horseback rides, leading federal agents along the southern border, in full make-up and cosplay ICE gear.
