Kristi Noem's final speech as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is going viral, but probably not for the reason she hoped.
After President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was replacing her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, a political communications director edited footage of Noem's remarks to look like the closing scene of HBO's political satire Veep.
Noem, who was formerly South Dakota's governor, was in the middle of publicly praising the president when he revealed her transfer to a lower position.
Chasten Buttigieg inspires Kristi Noem Veep parody
Trump announced the move in a Truth Social post on Thursday, dubbing Senator Mullin as the new leader of the DHS.
"The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida," he wrote.
While Noem probably won't be out of work, headlines still declared her fired from her previous high-profile position.
The change didn't come as much of a surprise after she faced fierce criticism over ICE operations in Minnesota, especially the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, from both sides of the aisle.
Noem was at the podium sucking up to Trump when the post went live. Part of her speech included a quote people often attribute to 1984 writer George Orwell.
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behals," she said. "Which means you step up in order to protect people and you do it in a way that other people often are never going to be required to."
Shortly after the firing news broke, Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, made a request on X.
"Can someone layer the Veep closing credits over this I have to make dinner," he wrote.
Fair Fight Action Communications Director Max Flugrath obliged.
"New Veep deleted scene feat. Kristi Noem," he said over the clip.
"I just spit out my Coke"
Veep lovers and Trump critics, who overlap considerably, universally adored this edit. One of the signature moves from the HBO series was to roll credits during highly awkward and hilarious final scenes.
Flugrath's imitation got rave reviews.
"Not going to lie. I just spit out my coke," said Obama-nominated U.S. attorney Joyce Alene.
"Excellent work, sir," said @seanbolandRED. "I expected to see the HBO logo at the end."
User @adjustedspeech called it "goat-tier satire," adding, "no notes."
"Our country is a comedy series at this point," wrote @crosbyt123.
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