Noem Responds To CNN Host During Interview Over ICE Operations
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s clash with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday was less an interview than a public confrontation over narrative control, timing, and accountability in the wake of a fatal ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis. The exchange captured a familiar tension in modern political media: whether officials should speak forcefully in defense of law enforcement while an investigation is ongoing, or whether doing so risks prejudging events before all facts are established.
You don't get to change the facts because you don't like them. What happened in Minneapolis was an act of domestic terrorism.
Acts of domestic terrorism like this should be condemned by every politician and elected official. It shouldn’t be hard or remotely controversial. pic.twitter.com/AmZLCyRiMo
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 11, 2026
Tapper framed his question around caution. His concern, as stated, was whether drawing firm conclusions so early could ultimately harm the officer involved, especially if later findings complicate the initial picture. It was a question rooted in process and restraint, themes often emphasized in high-profile use-of-force cases. Noem, however, rejected that framing outright and pivoted to what she argued was a glaring double standard in public discourse.
HOLY CRAP! Kristi Noem just PUMMELED Jake Tapper for running COVER for violent rhetoric against ICE
TAPPER: Aren't you doing a disservice?
NOEM: "I haven't heard you say ONCE what a DISSERVICE it's done for Mayor FREY to get up and tell ICE 'get the F out!' Or AOC to call… pic.twitter.com/ozmTSu5hB9
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 11, 2026
Her response was pointed and expansive. Rather than limiting her remarks to the officer or the investigation itself, Noem accused prominent Democratic figures of doing exactly what Tapper warned against—reaching conclusions before facts were known—without receiving comparable scrutiny. She cited statements from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, arguing that their public condemnations and rhetoric inflamed tensions and undermined due process. In Noem’s telling, the real disservice was not coming from federal officials defending their actions, but from political leaders who, she said, rushed to judgment and vilified law enforcement.
This domestic terror attack in Minneapolis was the direct consequence of sanctuary politicians, like Tim Walz and Jacob Frey, who constantly demonize and vilify our brave officers.
Sanctuary politicians are allowing situations around the country to become volatile, they’re not… pic.twitter.com/wJaQc3ugB9
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 11, 2026
The secretary’s insistence that she had already provided facts “to back up every single word” underscored her broader strategy. Rather than adopt a wait-and-see posture, Noem positioned herself as responding to an already-politicized environment, one in which silence or neutrality would amount to surrendering the narrative. Her challenge to Tapper—urging him to “call them out” with the same intensity—was as much about media accountability as it was about the specific incident.
BREAKING: DHS Sec. Kristi Noem just DROPPED THE MIC on every Democrat and stunned CNN
“You don't get to change the facts because you don't like them. What happened in Minneapolis was an act of domestic terrorism!”
“Acts of domestic terrorism like this should be… pic.twitter.com/RxLVG3HADw
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 11, 2026
Noem went further by placing partial blame on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Frey, arguing that their policies and public posture toward ICE contributed to an atmosphere of hostility. This shift widened the issue beyond a single fatal encounter and into a broader debate over sanctuary policies, federal enforcement, and local resistance.