Kristi Noem might have thought twice before initiating a war of words with Kacey Musgraves, who had a mic-drop of a comeback post after the ousted Secretary of Homeland Security went on X to pick a fight with the country-pop star. Because when things get rough in a Noem feud, it’s always going to wind up going to the dogs. Noem didn’t like it that Texas senatorial candidate James Talarico, a Democrat who is leading in polls in the red state, attended the concert by fellow Texan Musgraves over the weekend and was warmly received, as captured in photos and video.
That led Noem to attempt to not just badger Musgraves for associating with Talarico but to set up a feud with “Choosin’ Texas” hitmaker Ella Langley (who, for what it’s worth, is from Alabama). Noem has not returned to X for any more posts since Musgraves’ sardonic comeback, as of this writing. Noem became famous for an anecdote in her memoir about shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, to death in a gravel pit after she deemed the animal too troublesome.
The story was intended to be an example of the one-time South Dakota governor’s firm resolve to do tough things, but it was seen as derailing her chances at becoming Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick during the 2024 campaign. The grisly story was not enough to keep him from subsequently naming her Homeland Secretary Secretary after he began his current term, but he subsequently fired her from that role in March of this year, following a series of controversies. Noem has been in the news far less since she was transitioned to becoming the U.S. special envoy to the Shield of the Americas under the Trump administration.
This was far from the first time Musgraves has been upfront about her beliefs, political or otherwise. Earlier this year, she raised the ire of some pro-ICE conservatives when she spoke up at a concert urging donations to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights as her “birthday wish.” She told her concert audience, “It’s a wonderful organization, and they help give aid — legal aid — and money to children whose parents have been deported unfairly. It’s not a political thing.
It’s just, these kids need help.” Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren responded, “What is an unfair deportation?” The singer has also spoken up on LGBTQ+ rights, among other concerns. Talerico has been getting plenty of support from country-singing Texans, as he was recently endorsed in a video by WIllie Nelson. In the latest Trafalgar poll of prospective Texas voters, Talarico had 47.1 % support in the state, versus 43.6% for scandal-plagued GOP candidate Ken Paxton, an unusual trend in a state that last had a Democratic senator in 1993.
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