Kristi Noem’s government jet touched down Thursday in Nashville, where a motorcade awaited.
Fifteen minutes later, the fleet of SUVs pulled into the loading dock of the Grand Hyatt Nashville, but the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security remained inside, behind the tinted glass.
Big city police union leaders who waited to greet her were told she was on an important call. Around 10 minutes later, Noem emerged and walked down the maze of hallways that lead to a room where those leaders and law enforcement officials had gathered.
“She was taking pictures with us. She was personable and smiling,” said Kenneth Corey, former NYPD chief of department. “You’d have no idea she had just been fired by the president while she was in the car.”
As the police leaders took their seats in the ballroom of the Major Cities Conference, there was a surprise performance by Lee Greenwood, the country singer and Trump favorite for his “God Bless the USA,” the unofficial anthem of MAGA and Trump rallies.
The music blared from the speakers and Greenwood raised his mic.
“If tomorrow all the things were gone that I’d worked for all my life…”
As Noem waited in the wings, hearing Greenwood sing these words, the bulletins began to flash across the phones i
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