Kristi Noem slammed for embarrassing mistake after being asked who America's best friend in South America is... as she explains her new job after being fired by Trump

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 00:31, 14 June 2026 | Updated: 00:47, 14 June 2026 Kristi Noem named two nations that are not in South America when asked who the United States' best friends on the continent are.  The former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was explaining her new job as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas on Newsmax. Anchor Greta Van Susteran asked: 'Who is our best friend in South America at this point?' 'We've worked so much with El Salvador on migration issues and third-country agreements. Ecuador's been fantastic... we've worked very well with Argentina, Costa Rica's been fantastic,' Noem said. El Salvador and Costa Rica are in Central America rather than South America. Noem was also asked to explain her job and explain what the new Shield of the Americas is meant to be.  'Shield of the Americas is a coalition of countries in the Western Hemisphere where we focus on the same priorities,' she said. The former governor of South Dakota said she'll be taking her best practices from her time at DHS to the rest of the world.  'I will be advising them and working with them on border security and what they need to do to stop illegal immigration and mass migration,' she said. Kristi Noem named two nations that are not in South America when asked who the United States' best friends on the continent are The former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (pictured left) was explaining her new job as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas when confronted There would also be shared economic benefits to the agreement, comparing it to NATO. 'I think it's gonna' be stronger than NATO because it's bringing these countries into allignment with American values and American freedom,' she said. Noem was fired from DHS on March 5, with Markwayne Mullin confirmed by the Senate as replacement shortly after.  She was axed fired by Trump after testifying on Capitol Hill that the President personally approved a controversial $220 million advertisement campaign. The lavish ad campaign featured Noem riding on a horse at Mount Rushmore in her home state of South Dakota, and galloping beside a stampeding herd of bison. Noem was grilled by her fellow Republicans during her Senate committee hearing, including hardline GOP Senator John Kennedy. Kennedy suggested during his question that Noem participated in the commercial to promote herself rather than the President's agenda. 'The President approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?' Kennedy asked her. Noem was also asked to explain her job and explain what the new Shield of the Americas is meant to be Noem was fired from DHS on March 5, with Markwayne Mullin confirmed by the Senate as replacement shortly after Noem claimed Trump personally approved the campaign to which Kennedy replied, 'to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.' 'I'm not saying you're not telling the truth,' Kennedy continued. 'It's just hard for me to believe, knowing the president as I do, that you said, "Mr President, here's some ads I've cut, and I'm going to spend $220 million running them" that he would have agreed to that.' The shocking confrontation from Noem's fellow Republican sent shockwaves through the White House. Trump fired her just two days later after saying he had never approved or reviewed the advertising campaign.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.