Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson says he is baffled by the transformation of former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, lamenting that she morphed into an urban creature during her time in the Trump administration amid accusations that she was having an affair.
According to WND, Hansons remarks came as Noem was abruptly replaced at the Department of Homeland Security by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., following two bruising congressional hearings. President Trump announced the change on Thursday after lawmakers grilled Noem over expensive promotional campaigns for her agency, two fatal Minnesota shootings involving federal agents and an alleged affair with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski.
Im baffled by her because I had followed vaguely, Hanson said on Tuesdays episode of Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words. I think she was a congressional representative before she became governor. And I saw a picture in 2015 or something with her husband, he explained.
She had no makeup on. She had kind of a shag haircut, short haircut. Fresh face. They were very intimate. I dont mean in the sexual sense, but, you know, close She looked happy. She looked unaffected. In Hansons telling, that earlier image of Noem stood in stark contrast to the polished, big-city persona she later projected from Washington.
And to see her today with those long extensions and facial surgery its sad. And she was a very effective governor, he said. So something happened, and that happened might be something connected with higher prominence, money I dont know what it was, attention but she needs to get back to her original roots as a Dakotan and a family, you know, wife and kids, he added.
And then we get into this: the reason that people liked her in the Dakota is she represented Dakota values. Maybe she still does, I hope she does, with family, husband, nuclear family, farm, ranching, Hanson said. But then, with Corey Lewandowski, she kind of morphed into an urban creature. And then there were these accusations that she was having an affair.
Hanson argued that Noems rise in national politics should have been accompanied by restraint, not celebrity-style branding. Somebody should have said to her, Look, I know you want high-profile coverage. I know you want bombastic language, but thats the president, not you. Youre his servant,' he added.
So what you want to do is scale back the travel, wear plain clothes, or just wear workmanlike clothes that reflect what youre doing. I wouldnt try to wear a lot of makeup. I wouldnt have any commercials in which you were in, and I would be very careful with the budget. And youve got to get rid of Cory Lewandowski.' His comments underscored a traditional conservative expectation that public servants emphasize duty, modesty and fiscal prudence over personal branding and Beltway glamour.
During the March 4 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Democrats seized on the rumors swirling around Noems relationship with Lewandowski. When U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., asked Noem if she had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski, Noem replied, I am shocked were going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee.
Lewandowski, a longtime Trump ally who managed the presidents 2016 presidential campaign, is an adviser to DHS. He is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government, Noem told Congress, saying Lewandowski has no authority to make DHS decisions.
The relationship between Noem and Lewandowski both of whom are married to other people has been the subject of speculation for years, even as each has denied any affair. The New York Post reported Friday that family members of Kristis husband Bryon Noem are hoping he finally leaves his wife after the ultimate humiliation from her alleged affair with a top adviser but predict hell continue to stay in his marriage due to his Christian faith and commitment to his vows.
He said he decided about 20 years ago that it was his calling from God to support her in whatever she decided to do, one family member said. So he has put up with the humiliation. We will see if he sticks with her now.
I think its him honoring the calling from God, the family member added. But it seems like there would be some limit to that. For many conservatives, that quiet resolve reflects a deeper commitment to marriage and faith that stands in stark contrast to the tabloid-style politics now engulfing Washington.
Executive News Editor Joe Kovacs (@JoeKovacsNews) is the author of the best-selling book, with previous works including a follow-up to his No. 1 best-seller. He is an award-winning journalist of more than 20 years in American TV, radio and the internet, and is also a former editor at the Budapest Business Journal in Europe, bringing long experience to coverage of the cultural and moral battles now reshaping the American right.
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