Ben Shapiro: “Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been very bad at her job”
Shapiro: “Quiet, solid implementation of mainstream policy - that is the way that administrations maintain popularity, not by going on TV in full makeup in order to promote the most radical version of the policy.”
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From the February 13, 2026, edition of The Daily Wire's The Ben Shapiro Show
BEN SHAPIRO (HOST): That is a really bad statistic for the Trump administration. This has always been a strength for the Trump administration. Remember, if three in 10 Americans are saying that the party they trust on immigration more is the one that left the border wide open for four years under Joe Biden, that is a referendum on the handling of immigration by, in particular, the secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who has been, I will say, disastrous. Again, I think that the the strength of the Trump administration when they came in is they came in with a hard-nosed plan to do things on executive orders. They moved fast. And, yes, they broke some things, but it was concerted action. The first three months of the Trump administration was one of the most effective administrations I have ever seen in action. And then it turns out that if you take people who are good on TV and you just put them in cabinet positions, sometimes it works out OK, and sometimes it really, really does not. And the polling data suggests that based on the ICE operations in Minnesota that has undercut Trump's popularity on an issue where Republicans ought to have extraordinarily high approval.
According to this brand new AP NORC poll, 62% of Americans say that President Trump has gone too far in sending federal immigration agents into US cities. 61% say that the administration has gone too far in using federal law enforcement at public protests in US cities. 54% say that the administration has gone too far in restricting legal immigration. And 52% say that the administration has gone too far in deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally. There is no excuse for this other than bad rollout because this was the issue that, number one, promoted Trump to the presidency in 2016 and then did it again in 2024. And this is where, I will say it again, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been very bad at her job. Just as I said yesterday, that Attorney General Pam Bondi has not been a credit to the administration. Quiet, solid implementation of mainstream policy — that is the way that administrations maintain popularity, not by going on TV in full makeup in order to promote the most radical version of the policy.
There is an extraordinary piece in the Wall Street Journal breaking down Kristi Noem's tenure over at DHS. Suffice it to say, it has been problematic. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kristi Noem has basically used DHS as a platform for her own political gratification. Given the incoming fire that she was taking politically, apparently, two days after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, Noem's top adviser and alleged lover, Corey Lewandowski -- and that is important because that has been widely alleged. Apparently, it's not even being very well hidden. Lewandowski -- both of them are married, by the way. Corey Lewandowski is married. Kristi Noem is married. It has long been rumored in South Dakota politics. It's been long rumored since she became DHS secretary that they live together, essentially. Corey Lewandowski is not just her top adviser. He may be her paramour, and I say may very advisedly there. Apparently, Lewandowski messaged Tony Fabrizio, which is one of Trump's pollsters, with a request to cut an ad to help Kristi Noem. Fabrizio ignored the entreaty.
According to the Wall Street Journal, throughout her tenure as secretary of Homeland Security, a sprawling agency charged with carrying out Trump's central campaign promise of a mass deportation, Noem has attempted to burnish her personal stardom at every turn. With Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager at her side, she has staged a headline grabbing immigration crackdown while sidelining rivals and dissenters. She's carried out confrontational operations over the objections of longtime immigration officials who warned that such flashy displays would discredit the department's ultimate mission. She's been in constant fights with Tom Homan, again, the adult in the room. Apparently, within DHS, Noem and Lewandowski frequently berate senior level staff, give polygraph tests to employees they don't trust, and have fired employees. In one incident, Lewandowski fired a US Coast Guard pilot after Noem's blanket was left behind on a plane according to people familiar with the incident. This would not surprise anybody who's familiar with the work of Corey Lewandowski historically. By the way, I'm not even sure why Lewandowski has the power to fire people working with Kristi Noem. He has sort of a temp position.
When you read down in the article, what you find is that days after Pretti's shooting, Lewandowski and Noem were spotted sitting together at the Mar-a-Lago wedding of Dan Scavino. A DHS spokeswoman said Noem serves at the pleasure of the president and has successfully clamped down on inefficiencies to save billions of dollars. She said that all the officials are on the same page, but apparently, Noem and Lewandowski's close relationship had already made Trump and his top advisers uncomfortable. Lewandowski had initially wanted to formally serve as Noam's chief of staff. Trump rejected the idea due to reports of a romantic relationship between the two. After tabloid photos of Lewandowski showed him going back and forth between his apartment and Noem's across the street last year, the secretary moved into a government owned waterfront house on a military base in Washington that is provided to the leader of the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guard falls under Noem's purview at DHS during peacetime. Apparently, the DHS spokeswoman said Noem moved to the house for increased security and pays rent as well, and Lewandowski spends time at the house.
Lewandowski and Noam, who are both married, have publicly denied reports that they are sleeping together. But again, let's just say the rumors are extremely strong. The pair have been using a luxury 737 max jet with a private cabin in back for their travel around the country. DHS is currently leasing the plane. They want to buy the plane, but the purchase would be double the cost of each of seven other commercial planes the department is also buying at the pair's discretion to carry out deportations. Apparently, behind the scenes, Noem and Lewandowski have been attempting to box out Tom Homan, who again is the responsible person at -- I'll say it again, you need responsible people in the room working for the president of the United States. That's how success is achieved.