Megyn Kelly Slams Kristi Noem ‘Ridiculous’ Photo Ops

Conservative firebrand Megyn Kelly tore into Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, accusing her of turning a critical federal position into a personal photoshoot series. On her popular podcast, Kelly didn’t hold back, calling Noem’s behavior “ridiculous” and “embarrassing to the Republican Party.”

“Stop trying to glamorize the mission and put yourself in the middle of it as you cosplay an ICE agent, which you’re not,” Kelly said, mocking Noem’s recent photo ops. “She’s out in the field with her gun being like, ‘We’re going to go kick some ass.’ No one wants you there!”

Photos of Noem playing dress-up in tactical gear have circulated widely in recent weeks. One shows her clad in fake lashes and pearl earrings, posing in a SWAT vehicle. Another features her helping to fly a US Coast Guard plane in Alaska, while yet another has her decked out in “POLICE” and “ICE” gear during an ICE raid in New York City.

But Kelly, a staunch Trump supporter, said these stunts only distract from the real work of securing the homeland. “There are lives on the line,” she said. “This is not a job in which she should showcase her vanity. It’s a job in which she should just keep us safe.”

Kelly blasted Noem for being unprepared on mission details, mocking her vague knowledge of a deportation case: “‘I thinnnnk he did human trafficking?’” she said, mimicking Noem in a mocking voice. “And the next thing you know, that guy’s in El Salvador, in prison.”

Adding to the pile-on, Kelly referenced past scandals that have haunted Noem’s public image—including her shocking confession in her memoir about killing her puppy and an alleged affair with former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski. “I wanted to root for her,” Kelly admitted. “But all we’ve seen so far is a lot of photo ops.”

The conservative media host reposted several blistering critiques of Noem on social media, including one from The Federalist senior editor John Daniel Davidson, who called Noem’s antics “ridiculous,” regardless of one’s politics.

Another came from Jonathan T. Gilliam, a Navy SEAL and former FBI agent, who questioned whether Noem even knows what job she holds. “Are you the Secretary of Homeland Security or are you a social media influencer?” he wrote. “Unless you are issued that weapon, you shouldn’t be holding it for posts and pics. Screwing around with guns for social media would get anyone that works under you fired.”

Radio host Erick Erickson also weighed in, saying: “I’m old school, but I don’t think our Cabinet Secretaries should cosplay as armed agents. You’re a politician, not one of our heroes.”

The backlash reached a boiling point after a controversial video surfaced of Noem at an El Salvadoran prison, flanked by shirtless inmates behind bars while she delivered a tough-on-crime message. Kelly was visibly outraged in her March 28 podcast. “They’re being used as props for her photo op in a skintight shirt, with her hair perfectly curled and coiffed,” she said. “It’s gross… a bad f***ing move.”

Kelly labeled Noem a “deeply insecure person” and called on Trump to rein her in. “Who are we if we only have honest talk for the left?” she asked. “This is honest from someone who’s a Trump supporter. He needs to reign her in because she’s becoming an embarrassment.”

She wrapped up the segment with a pointed jab: “If I were DHS Secretary, I would not be laying on the lip-gloss, the lashes, and the blush.”