My regular readers know how I feel about political theater and staged confrontations, and that is what I believe just happened to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was kicked out of Noem's presser in California, and Dems are now calling for her head, but let’s take a look at this to see what really happened.
The video that was aired did not really clear things up, as Padilla can be heard shouting out a question, and we have to assume he was approaching the podium while doing so.
You then hear a scuffle, at which point the camera pans over to Padilla, who is trying to identify himself as a senator while being removed by Noem’s security detail.
Padilla was in casual clothes, with no congressional pin on his lapel to identify himself, so, by the time he identified himself as a senator, it was too late, as the agents were only concerned with protecting Noem and removing the possible threat.
In other words, in my opinion, he wanted this to happen.
Democrats were predictably outraged that Padilla was removed from the room.
For instance, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) stated, "Kristi Noem should never have been appointed to that office. She should resign from that office. There ought to be an investigation of the conduct of those officers."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded, "Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem."
She added, "Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. U.S. Secret Service thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15-minute meeting."
I don’t often see eye-to-eye with Breitbart editor Alex Marlow, but we are definitely on the same page here in thinking that Padilla wanted this to happen.
Marlow explained, “[H]e clearly wants to draw attention to himself, he’s being forcibly removed by law enforcement, which is law enforcement’s right.”
He then stated exactly what I had claimed earlier, in that Padilla was “trying to bait some sort of a big reaction.” They are trying to portray Trump and his administration as Nazis that will silence opposing voice, and that is what this accomplishes.
Padilla should have worn his pin, and he should have identified himself to security beforehand to let them know he planned on asking a question. Had he done that, there would have been no drama, but he wanted the drama; he got his headlines, and he got his viral moment on social media, and, sadly, that is what today’s politics is all about.
