President Trump heaped praise on embattled Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem after protests nationwide over ICE tactics, and said critics are attacking her because of her gender.
“The Radical Left Lunatics, Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Thugs, are going after Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, because she is a woman, and has done a really GREAT JOB!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday night.
“The Border disaster that I inherited is fixed, the violent criminals that were allowed into our Country through Sleepy Joe’s “sick” Open Border Policy, are largely gone, or being strongly sought for purposes of removal, and the Murder Rate in the USA just reached the lowest level in history, 125 years!”
Then Trump sent a message to critics that they would have to live with his choices, as mandated by voters.
“I was elected on Strong Borders, and Law and Order, among many other things. Thank you to Secretary Kristi Noem. Remember, ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Critics have branded Noem, a former South Dakota governor and congresswoman, “ICE barbie” for her penchant for photo-ops, sometimes sporting cowboy hats or agency gear.
She was famously photographed in front of bare-chested inmates at the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador in May after the government deported 200 alleged gang members there.
Trump’s comments came a day after he did not invite Noem to speak during a cabinet meeting, although Small Business Administration Secretary Kelly Loeffler, who was seated next to her, did.
Trump three days earlier dispatched White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis in the aftermath of the shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents Jan. 24, saying Homan would be taking over immigration enforcement activities in the city and would report directly to the president.
In addition, Greg Bovino, who had been operating as “commander at large,” is reportedly being returned to his prior post in El Centro, Calif.
Trump also posted that Homan was doing a “FANTASTIC JOB” and called him “one of a kind.”
But retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has been publicly blasting Noem in comments and on social media, calling her and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Steven Miller “sycophants.”
“A sycophant is more than just a ‘yes-man.’ It refers to someone who acts excessively servile toward someone important in order to gain an advantage,” Tillis posted on X. “They aren’t just being nice, they are using excessive flattery, often insincerely, to get what they want, whether that’s a promotion, social status or favor.”
Then he compared Noem to a villain from the Harry Potter series: “Dolores Umbridge (the Kristi Noem of Harry Potter) is an example of a bureaucratic sycophant. She is terrifyingly sweet while she is around those she considers her superiors and she sucks up to authority to gain the power she needs to bully those “beneath” her.”
Noem defended herself against critics in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, dismissing calls for her resignation as politically motivated attacks.
“These radicals are attacking me, but I’m just doing my job,” she said.
