ICYMI, Kristi Noem is not a CNN fan. The Secretary of Homeland Security has said so on a number of occasions. However, other than the odd statement that it wouldn’t retract the reports that upset her, CNN has all but ignored Noem’s scathing jabs. Awks!
We’ll start with Noem’s response to CNN’s report on the ICEBlock app. As a brief overview, CNN ran a story in June 2025 on the app, which let people report if they saw ICE agents. Noem responded to the piece several days later while on a walkabout with Donald Trump at Alligator Alcatraz. “We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that, because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities, operations, and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them with the partnership of Pam [Bondi] if we can, because what they’re doing, we believe, is illegal” (via The White House). Homeland Security’s official X account re-shared the video, along with a not-so-subtle warning. Referring to CNN as “FAKE NEWS” (original caps), @DHSgov wrote, “@Sec_Noem has been clear: if you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” No word on whether Noem would arrive for said hunting down in her SWAT Barbie getup, like the time she attended an ICE raid, extensions and makeup and all.
As for CNN, its response was fairly unbothered. Taking to X, the organization clarified, “[ICEBlock] is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.” Oop.
Kristi Noem wasn’t happy about CNN’s FEMA reports, either
Just over a week after the ICEBlock debacle, CNN rubbed Kristi Noem the wrong way yet again. This time, the outlet published a report outlining the impact of Noem’s FEMA procedures on the disaster response to the devastating Texas floods. In addition to citing sources who claimed that Noem’s policy requiring anything over $100,000 to be greenlit by her led to significant delays in response, CNN’s sources also said she’d taken days to authorize Urban Search and Rescue to act.
Unsurprisingly, Noem wasn’t thrilled. In an interview with Fox News, Noem (who, btw, is no stranger to scandalous rumors) once again slated CNN as “fake news.” “There you go. CNN, again. It’s absolutely trash, what they’re doing by saying that,” Noem scoffed. The Secretary of Homeland Security went on to list everything that had been done in the wake of the floods, before delivering an iteration of the “I’m-not-mad-I’m-just-disappointed” speech. “The fact that CNN is continuing to be political and push out fake information and false information and lies is not shocking, but it’s a disservice to the country … because people start to mistrust anything that comes out then over the news,” she said. CNN didn’t respond.
It bears mentioning that a few months prior, Noem had alluded to who could and couldn’t be trusted in a supremely awkward interview on CNN. In response to Dana Bash’s comment that it was strange to see Republicans accepting the government being able to retrieve their personal information via Elon Musk, Noem replied, “We can’t trust our government anymore.” Cue a bemused expression from Bash, who pointed out, “You are the government now.” Noem’s feud with CNN may be one-sided, but it’s clear the network isn’t planning on easing up on the pressure any time soon.
