“ICE Barbie” Kristi Noem got a rare Fox News grilling about her response to the killing of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti.
Noem’s handling of the Jan. 24 shooting has attracted scrutiny from both sides of the aisle. More than 160 House Democrats have already backed filing articles of impeachment, while Republicans are also growing weary of her rule.
The anger started when Noem, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, suggested that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who wanted to attack federal agents before he was shot. She also falsely claimed that the ICU nurse brandished a firearm before his death, even as video evidence contradicted those assertions.
The homeland security secretary, who previously attempted to blame senior White House adviser Stephen Miller for the incendiary language, appeared on Fox News’ Hannity on Thursday, where she went into damage control mode to try to safeguard her job. She was confronted directly by host Sean Hannity on the use of the words “domestic terrorist.”
She also used the terminology in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Renee Good earlier this month. “People seem to be upset over the term ‘domestic terrorism.’ Why do you believe that is appropriate? Because you used it in both cases,” Hannity asked.
“Well, Sean, we’re continuing to gather information. The FBI leading this investigation... is important to make sure we talk about both these situations appropriately,” she said, appearing to sidestep the host’s question.
She then blamed the previous administration. “We can’t distract from how we got here. We got here because we had a Biden administration that allowed an invasion,” she said, rolling off familiar President Trump talking points.
Elsewhere in the interview, in which Hannity pushed the DHS secretary a little, he asked if some statements made in the wake of the Pretti killing were premature.
He asked in particular about Noem’s knee-jerk assertion that Pretti drew his gun. Pretti was armed, but video from the scene shows that he didn’t touch his weapon as federal agents swarmed him.
“I guess my question is, you know, was that statement premature?” Hannity asked.
She shifted the blame onto federal agents at the “very choatic” scene. “We were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP agents and officers that were there. We were using the best information we had at the time,” Noem explained.
She added, “[We were] seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.”
Despite the furore around her performance, Noem appears to have Trump’s backing. Earlier this week, he told reporters she would not be standing down, adding that she is doing a “very good job.”
However, on Thursday, the president skipped over her in the first Cabinet meeting of the year. The president did not call on Noem during the meeting or even acknowledge her presence in the televised 80-minute showcase.
Noem was spotted shooting daggers at Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, whom Trump went to after refusing Noem the opportunity to speak.
