The Humiliation of Kristi Noem

Mark Leibovich: “When a conspicuous presidential project goes awry—in this case, federal immigration agents killing two protesters in Minnesota—someone typically loses their job. And for much of this week, Kristi Noem’s deportation from the Trump administration seemed imminent…”

“But in what can perhaps be called a minor upset, Noem was still in her role by week’s end. Instead, she had been left to twist very publicly in the wind. In a sense, this marks a subtle shift in Trump’s humiliation methods. Rather than firing officials outright—in a quick and relatively straightforward directive, or a tweet—he now seems to prefer sowing public doubt and maximizing attention upon the ultimate decider of someone’s fate: that person, of course, being himself.”