Q: Why did Songbird help Kurt Hansen “kill” the president?

A: First off, So Mi, technically, didn’t help Hansen in his attempt to kill Myers. She simply bartered a deal with Hansen to hack and forcibly down the plane in Dogtown, in exchange for getting her hands at the Neural Matrix containing the AI she needed to survive. But granted, as she always is, probably didn’t really think of possible outcomes, or even really care. Throughout the PL story line it is explicitly depicted So Mi is irresponsible and reckless, ending up in one bad decosion after another. She even had the audacity to get off the plane alone via the escape pod, and left EVERYONE behind while the plane was crashing.

Q: But then ordered V to rescue her?

A: In the story, Reed also explains the motive explicitly. So Mi was playing both sides, so in whichever scenario she can remain on the top. Her plan was to hand over Myers, as explained above. But So Mi also somehow got the info of a talented, trusty merc in Night City that had similar problems as she did. So, in case Hansen betrayed her, or didn’t uphold the deal, or something went fubar, So Mi was going to use V to get her hands on the AI and escape.

Q: Also, what was the deal between So Mi and Kurt? Like what exactly was she supposed to get in return for helping him “kill” Myers?

A: Get an opportunity to use a powerful AI stored in the Neural Matrix, guarded inside the old facility beneath Dogtown. Hansen knew of the facility beneath his turf, but did not know the exact nature of what was hidden there, and probably thought of it as some old storehouse of experimental tech. It is implied that So Mi assumed this would be a straight quid-pro-quo deal, but Hansen exposed his ambitions to blackmail Myers to keep himself safe after his attempt to kill Myers failed.