U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images
Appearing at CPAC over the weekend, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem joked about having placed an order for chainsaws as part of her plan to overhaul the Department of Homeland Security. “If you don’t own a chainsaw, go buy one,” Noem advised the crowd. “They really are fantastic.” Chainsaws aren’t the only tool of destruction she owns, however (guns, of course, are a given). Noem followed that up with a clip, posted to X, featuring her wielding a flamethrower and setting fire to what looks like a pile of empty cardboard boxes. Accompanying the video was a captioned: “I have a flamethrower if you need help cutting AND burning the government waste!” which tagged both Elon Musk and Argentina’s far-right libertarian President Javier Milei, who gifted Musk the bedazzled chainsaw he waved around onstage at CPAC on Thursday. Who knew dismantling democratic structures was such a physical job?
