Kristi Noem introduced herself to her new workforce after she was appointed to the top job within the Department of Homeland Security by walking on stage at a town hall meeting to the country song ‘Hot Mama,’ insiders claim.
The Trump administration’s embattled DHS Secretary, who has earned the moniker ‘ICE Barbie’ for her appearances in front of the camera in full glam, has faced mounting criticism for her penchant for documenting and dramatizing the work of her department.
And that polarizing style reportedly started on her very first day in the job, with insiders revealing to the Wall Street Journal that she made a memorable impression on the department’s 260,000-strong workforce.
As Trace Adkins’ 2003 hit Hot Mama blasted from the speakers at the town hall, Noem swaggered onto the stage to meet her new team.
Since then, she’s made a series of sweeping changes and executive decisions which have ruffled feathers within the department, from pushing voluntary staff exits to implementing the use of lie detector tests to root out disloyal staff and leakers.
But it was a social media post to X just days after taking office which first sparked alarm bells among agents, the publication reported, citing unnamed insiders.
‘Live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,’ she wrote, alongside a photo of herself at a predawn raid in New York City.
The photo was posted before the raid had even concluded, potentially alerting targets to the operation and ultimately resulting in fewer arrests than officials had expected.
The Trump administration’s embattled DHS Secretary, who has earned the moniker ‘ICE Barbie’ for her appearances in front of the camera in full glam, has faced mounting criticism for her penchant for documenting and dramatizing the work of her department
As Trace Adkins’ (pictured) 2003 hit Hot Mama blasted from the speakers at the town hall, Noem swaggered onto the stage to meet her new team
Kristi Noem introduced herself to her new workforce after she was appointed to the top job within the Department of Homeland Security by walking on stage at a town hall meeting to the country song ‘Hot Mama’, insiders claim. Pictured during a Wisconsin rally in July 2024
It has become part of her signature style and sparked backlash from other MAGA supporting conservatives.
Within her own department, some reportedly view her as little more than a chief spokeswoman or ‘face’ of the operation.
Trump’s wildly popular border czar, former acting ICE director Tom Homan, is considered to have more gravitas and expertise than Noem.
He himself has indicated that he calls the shots when directing raids and deportation events.
Trump’s top policy adviser Stephen Miller also has sweeping oversight of immigration policies.
High profile conservatives including Megyn Kelly and Meghan McCain have flamed the DHS Secretary for her repeated photo ops in recent weeks.
In one photo-op, Noem stood flanked by two agents during a video touting the most recent operation rounding up illegal immigrant criminals in Arizona.
Swiftly, critics noted Noem was pointing the barrel of the weapon towards the head of the man standing on her left.
Photo ops have become part of Noem’s signature style in the role. Pictured in March flying an aircraft during an aerial tour of Kodiak, Alaska
Pictured: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, right, participates in a firefighting drill with a training helicopter
High profile conservatives including Megyn Kelly and Meghan McCain have flamed the DHS Secretary for her repeated photo ops
They also pointed out that her trigger finger was not pointed away from the trigger and how she was wearing her bulletproof vest askew.
Some compared the way Noem held her gun to the way an ISIS terrorist or other insurgent or untrained renegade might hold a firearm to intimate those around them.
‘Just stop trying to glamorize the mission and put yourself in the middle of it as you cosplay ICE agent, which you’re not,’ Kelly said earlier this month.
She went on to describe Noem as an ’embarrassment’ over the ‘ridiculous photo ops,’ which she said she couldn’t ‘stand.’
‘I think they diminish ICE, DHS, CPB, she’s not an agent. She is an administrative policy person appointed by Trump because she was very loyal to him.’
Kelly claimed that Noem ‘looks like I look right now, but she’s out in the field with her gun,’ furthering the ‘ICE Barbie’ image, adding she has to ‘stop with the glam.’
‘No one wants you there. First of all, nobody ever wants the extra lady who doesn’t actually belong. They just don’t.’
McCain joined in the conservative pile-on just a day later, adding: ‘I don’t think that it is productive to have a full face of hair and makeup and hair extensions.
Within her own department, some reportedly view her as little more than a chief spokeswoman or ‘face’ of the operation
Noem, right, participates in ship assault demonstration – this photo came just weeks before she was flamed for holding a gun inappropriately
‘I’m from Arizona and I’ve been shooting guns since I was a child… she literally could’ve blown that man’s head off, anybody with even a cursory knowledge of gun safety knows that.
The daughter of late Senator John McCain noted that she didn’t ‘want to comment on a woman’s looks’ but suggested: ‘If I were giving her some advice, I would be like, ‘How about pulling our hair back in a baseball cap and not doing a photo-op?”
Instead, Noem should be doing her job ‘and not turning it into a social media spectacle,’ according to McCain.
The former co-host of The View added that it is ‘hurting’ Noem and anything that hurts her hurts Trump.
‘I like her. I don’t want her to become a parody of herself.’
In another apparent photo-op, Noem angered liberals for wearing an expensive watch on her wrist while simultaneously berating suspected gangsters at the notorious El Salvador prison where the Trump administration banished illegal migrants.
She posted video to social media where she went face-to-face with men believed to be members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, who have become a focal point of Trump’s border policy.
Online Democrats were furious, as one even complained about the watch Noem was visibly wearing in the video clip.
In one photo-op, Noem stood flanked by two agents during a video touting the most recent operation rounding up illegal immigrant criminals in Arizona . Swiftly, critics noted Noem was pointing the barrel of the weapon towards the head of the man standing on her left
During her criticism, Megyn Kelly claimed Noem ‘looks like I look right now, but she’s out in the field with her gun,’ furthering the ‘ICE Barbie’ image, adding she has to ‘stop with the glam’
Patrick Jaicomo asked: ‘Is Secretary Noem wearing a $50,000 gold Rolex Daytona wristwatch while she films a threat to immigrants with due-process free rendition to a third-world prison?’
The gang members are all shirtless and have shaved heads, wearing only white pants while crammed into their cells.
After touring the building with Salvadoran Minister of Justice Hector Gustavo, Noem had a message for any would be followers who wanted to cause havoc while in America illegally.
‘First of all, do not come to our country illegally: You will be removed, and you will be prosecuted,’ she said
‘But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.’
The Trump administration sent 261 illegal migrants to El Salvador on March 15 in a move which sparked legal disputes, protests and mass controversy.
In spite of the criticism, the administration’s border policies have delivered some success, with illegal crossings down to the lowest point in decades.
But Trump’s lofty target to hit one million deportations annually is still a far-away dream, with pace needing to rapidly increase.
There have been reports that Trump has expressed frustration in private at the number of deportations and would like to see rapid improvement as he seeks to make good on his promise to solve the crisis at the border.
But Noem, in an interview with the publication, would not be drawn on the specifics.
‘We’re not putting numbers on that, because we don’t want to be judged by specific numbers,’ she said.
‘Because we have targeted so harshly the worst of the worst. If we’re just randomly sweeping up people, those numbers would be much higher.’
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