Charisma Madarang
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Michael Tran / AFP via Getty Images; Alex Brandon - Pool/Getty Images Leave it to the impressively incompetent Kristi Noem to make a concert about herself.
During Kacey Musgraves‘ Middle of Nowhere tour stop in Dallas, Texas, this weekend, the star hosted James Talarico, the state’s Democratic Senate candidate, who shared photos from the show including a picture of the singer taking a bedazzled selfie with him. “Thank you for having me last night, Kacey Musgraves!” Talarico wrote on social media after attending the show.
The moment didn’t sit well with booted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who took to X to air out her grievances. “I’ll take [Ella Langley] over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem posted. “And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.” It appears that Langley, perhaps wanting nothing to do with the severe pettiness, untagged herself from Noem’s post.
Back in March, President Donald Trump fired Noem after weeks of public scrutiny, personal scandal, and bad press over her handling of the Department of Homeland Security. The ousting arrived days after Noem was berated by lawmakers on Capitol Hill over a series of disastrous blunders by her department, including the killings of two American citizens by border patrol agents in Minneapolis and apparent attempts by DHS to stifle investigations into the shootings. Noem was also under fire for extravagant spending at the department, while placing restrictions on FEMA disaster relief funds.
Prior to her role as DHS secretary, Noem infamously wrote in her memoir about the killing her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, by shooting it in a gravel pit.
When replying to Noem’s tweet on Monday, Musgraves referenced the horrific anecdote and replied: “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.”
I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day. And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico. pic.twitter.com/sD9yzSF955
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) October 12, 2026
Musgraves wrapped her five-night run in her home state on Sunday with shows across Houston, Dallas, and Austin. The singer has a slew of shows this month including stops in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.
The country singer recently tapped the Texan group Intocable for a new Spanish version of fan-favorite track “Uncertain, TX” — singing entirely in Spanish as she harmonizes with lead singer Ricky Javier Muñoz. The song marked the Musgraves’ first full original Spanish-language song.
