Morning Joe Hosts Revel in Kristi Noem's Dismissal Over Costly Ad Campaign
MSNBC's Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski launched into a gleeful celebration on Friday morning, marking the firing of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with a series of clips from her controversial $220 million advertising campaign. The anchors began their victory lap just before 6:30 a.m., showcasing footage of Noem on horseback that reportedly contributed to her dismissal.
Scarborough and Brzezinski Mock Lavish Production Values
Scarborough immediately questioned the nature of the ads, stating, "It looked like a political ad campaign for her. Yeah, she said the president approved it. That is not the case. The White House has denied it." He then referenced Noem's testimony before Congress last Tuesday, where Senator John Kennedy publicly accused her of lying about President Trump greenlighting the campaign.
According to Scarborough, Kennedy revealed that Trump called him that night, furious and insisting, "no, I had nothing to do with this, she lied." Scarborough added, "Now, she was already on thin ice."
As Brzezinski remarked on the ad's staggering $220 million cost, Scarborough interjected, "200 million? Oh, come on. It was a campaign ad! It was crazy." The hosts then played a series of clips, with Brzezinski describing them as "the ads with [Noem] on horses with her cowboy and full hair and make-up."
South Dakota Filming and Cinematic Comparisons
The advertisements were filmed in Noem's native South Dakota, prompting Brzezinski to joke, "Like movie shoots!" Scarborough riffed in response, "Yeah, exactly. I thought I was seeing, like, a scene out of North by Northwest." As footage of Noem on horseback against the South Dakota landscape played, he added, "There we go, there we go."
Brzezinski scoffed at the production values, saying, "Pan off into the sky. There she is, representing America at its best." Scarborough noted sarcastically, "It’s great cinematography, I wonder how much that cost - oh wait, it cost $220 million!" Both hosts broke into laughter, clearly enjoying the moment.
Ads Feature Trump Imagery and Immigration Message
Scarborough expressed incredulity as the ad showed an image of Trump raising his fist after a near-assassination attempt and footage of a rocket launch, saying, "And she blamed Donald Trump!" He continued, "Oh Look! We got rockets, assassination attempts…" while still snickering.
Brzezinski joked, "This is her way of saying, 'Don’t come.' I feel bad for the horse." Noem appeared in a Western-themed outfit, gallivanting on horseback around Mount Rushmore. The married co-hosts then passed to costar Jonathan Lemire, who continued to relish the ad's strangeness.
Noem's Defense and Trump's Denial
In the ads, Noem urged undocumented immigrants to self-deport while decked out in full cowgirl regalia. Filmed in front of Mount Rushmore, she defended the campaign on Tuesday as an important part of the president’s immigration agenda, testifying, "Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country, and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from, with putting commercials out that told them that if they were in this country illegally, that they needed to leave, or we would detain them and remove them, and they’d not get the chance to come back to America the right way."
She ultimately testified that Trump was aware of the campaign and its cost. However, Trump told both NBC News and Reuters that this was untrue, stating on Thursday after Noem's firing, "I wasn’t thrilled with it. I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it." The ads were filmed last year, adding to the controversy surrounding their timing and expenditure.
