What do you think Kristi Noem was thinking during those 39 interminable minutes?

[Prairie Gates]

12. I think she was feeling like the grandaughter who suddenly noticed that Grandpa wasn't all there

She's a hardcore Trumpy, and she's deeply despicable in a bunch of ways, but she's not stupid.

I think once you hit a certain age, we've all been there. Grandma asks the same question six times in a row, looks off toward the window. And then you see it: she's not the same as Grandma in your memory. She's this other person now.

I think that's how Noem was feeling. There were a few moments when it really showed, like when she tried to get Trump to acknowledge the loss of the family of the man who was killed. She desperately wanted him to do the right thing, but you could see in her posture that she knew it was gone. Always the loyal gradndaughter...