On Sunday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem entered into a media lion’s den, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union with host Jake Tapper. Secretary Noem went into this surely knowing Tapper’s inclinations, and on a couple of exchanges, she let the viewing audience have both barrels.
First, on the rabble-rousing incitements put out by Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey:
.@Sec_Noem: “If you look at what @GovTimWalz has said, if you look at what @MayorFrey has said… They’ve inflamed the public. They’ve encouraged the kind of destruction and violence that we’ve seen… I would encourage them to grow up.” pic.twitter.com/eouVVKWqvq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 11, 2026
Secretary Noem said:
I would say that these locals, if you look at what Governor Walz has said, if you look at what Mayor Frey has said, they have extremely politicized and inappropriately talked about the situation on the ground in their city. They have inflamed the public. They have encouraged the kind of destruction and violence that we have seen in Minneapolis these last several days, and I would encourage them to grow up, get some maturity, act like people who are responsible, who want people to be safe and the right thing to be done.
When you use the kind of language that you use against law enforcement officers, they lose their credibility.
They ought to lose their jobs, to be frank. But yes, it’s a fair point; what Walz and Frey have done is put their toes right up on the line of incitement, and they a step beyond that line, and so they bear some of the blame for whatever happens next.
Next, Secretary Noem described what’s happening in Minneapolis as domestic terrorism.
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
Secretary Noem said:
The facts of the situation are that the vehicle was weaponized and it attacked the law enforcement officer. He defended himself and he defended those individuals around him. That is the definition. When there is something that is weaponized to use against the public and law enforcement, that is an act of domestic terrorism. Happened in our shores. It happened here in our country. You don’t get to change the facts just because you don’t like them.
We will continue to look at this individual and what her motivations were. We know that there was — throughout that morning, she had harassed and impeded law enforcement operations. That raises the suspicion level with all of these law enforcement officers as far as paying attention to what her capacity is. And as you see on the videos, and they have proven out, that this law enforcement officer took the action that his training prepared him for and he worked to make sure that he could save his own life and those around him.
Here’s a hint for rioters, protestors, whatever: Don’t try to run over cops. Don’t interfere with federal (or any other) law enforcement who are carrying out their legal duties. Stand on the sidewalk and wave signs all you like, but don’t interfere.
Look, nobody should be happy or even satisfied with a life ended like this. But the facts remain: Too many people, not only in Minneapolis but in other sanctuary jurisdictions around the country, are taking it on themselves to try to override federal law and interfere with badged federal law enforcement, who are carrying out their duties enforcing laws that were legally passed and enacted by our constitutional process. When people interfere with ongoing law enforcement actions, it frequently won’t end well for them.
And yes, using or threatening violence to try to forward or enforce a political agenda? That is, by definition, an act of terrorism.
In this appearance, though, Secretary Noem laid all that out very plainly. Whether CNN’s target audience can assimilate those facts, though, that’s another matter.
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