Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski were fuming with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ TV tour of the migrant detention center nicknamed ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ according to a report.
DeSantis conducted a walkabout of the site in the Florida Everglades with Fox & Friends on Friday last week, undercutting what Noem and her team thought would be the official public launch on Tuesday this week, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. A Republican operative claimed Noem’s staff asked DeSantis not to go ahead with the TV tour, with one source claiming that Lewandowski “lost his s---” over it.
“DeSantis upset Noem and Lewandowski with his Fox News tour of the detention site,” the GOP operative told NBC News. The outlet claimed the Trump administration was caught off guard by DeSantis’ stunt.
“Noem wanted an event for Tuesday and didn’t want anyone having eyes on the site and needed to push until Tuesday because she was traveling.”
The source suggested that DeSantis might have even ignored pleas from Noem staffers who outright asked him not to do the live bit with Fox News host Steve Doocy.
“The DHS team asked DeSantis not to do his Friday event,” the person said. “DeSantis did what was best for DeSantis and got out in front...angering both Noem and Lewandowski.”
Lewandowski, who once served as Trump’s campaign chief, also advised the president last year during his run against then-Vice President Kamala Harris. He now works as a close adviser to Noem—both Lewandowski and Noem have previously denied tabloid reports claiming they had an affair. Both are married.
The Daily Beast has contacted Noem and DeSantis’ offices for comment on the report about Alligator Alcatraz. The White House, meanwhile, called the source quotes “fake news.”
“Leave it to the Fake News NBC to write about baseless gossip following a hugely successful event with President Trump, Secretary Noem and Governor DeSantis at Alligator Alcatraz,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast in a statement.
“Here’s the real story that the state-of-the-art facility will play an important role in fulfilling the President’s promise to keep Americans safe and deport criminal illegal aliens.”
“The President is grateful to work with both Secretary Noem and Governor DeSantis on this project,” she added.
DeSantis has been working hard to get back to the MAGA top table after challenging Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination. At the event on Tuesday, he was keen to show the new united front.
“The thing about it is, I endorsed him,” DeSantis said, referring to his backing of Trump after he dropped out of the presidential race. “Raised one of his PACs millions and millions of dollars.”
Trump, meanwhile, appeared to be appeased and delivered a backslapping appraisal of their mended friendship.
“You are my friend, and you’ll always be my friend, and we may have some skirmishes, even in the future. I doubt it, but I will always come back, because we have blood that seems to match pretty well,” the president said.
“I think it is a 10,” Trump added of their relationship. “Maybe a 9.9. ... We get along great.”
