Kristi Noem is a Moron. That's the Point.

Watching the Homeland Security Secretary flub an easy question might feel good, but don't let her ignorance fool you.

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I sincerely hope that you, dear reader, had the forethought and sense of self-preservation to ignore today’s Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Believe me when I say from personal experience that no good comes out of prolonged exposure to that sort of psychic septic tank. You don’t want to end up like me, do you?

Still, even if you didn’t tune in to watch Noem blabber her way through a Senate hearing, odds are good that you’re nevertheless about to be bombarded online with clips, remixes, and (shudder) late night talk show segments about the following exchange between Noem and New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. And if you’re reading this blog, odds are also good that you don’t need me to delve too deeply into why Noem is so spectacularly, hilariously, pathetically out of her depth here.

Told ya.

But while it’s easy (and fun!) to laugh at the fact that Noem seems to have the mental capacity of a flustered duck, this moment—one which would have made for a perfectly “meh” SNL cold open next weekend if not for the fact that the show just wrapped its 50th season a few days ago—is much more insidious than I suspect it will be treated by those who should know better.