Kristi Noem is once again going viral for a photo op she had this week, prompting “The Daily Show” host Desi Lydic to dub the Secretary of Homeland Security “friendly fire Barbie.” Why? Because Noem can be seen unwittingly pointing a gun right at a U.S. agent’s head.
As the Comedy Central host teed up the footage on Thursday night, she joked that this particular moment “was less like a photo op and more like a photo-watch where you point that thing.” Because indeed, in the video, Noem is sandwiched between two federal agents while holding a massive gun — and the barrel of that gun was pointed almost directly at the head of the man next to her.
“Wow. Give it up for friendly fire Barbie, everyone,” Lydic joked. That said, she also had an explanation for why the pose likely turned out this way.
“To be fair, this is Kristi Noem and these agents were wearing dog tags,” the comedian quipped, earning audible oohs from the audience.
Now, if you’re not quite sure what Lydic is joking about, the answer is unfortunate: last year, Noem openly admitted to killing her own puppy. In her memoir, she recalls a story from roughly 13 years ago, when she had a 14-month-old pointer named Cricket.
Noem noted that she did not train the puppy, and that one day, after some rambunctious behavior that she couldn’t rein in, she decided the dog needed to be put down (she also openly admitted that she “hated” the animal). So, she shot it herself.
“You know, I’m starting to wonder if maybe she actually shot her dog by accident while taking a family photo,” Lydic wondered on Thursday. “‘Fido! Fido, get in here! Ope, never mind, just people!’”
You can watch the full segment from “The Daily Show” in the video above.
