The Downfall of ICE Barbie

Susan Estrich
Fri, 06 Mar 2026 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

I'm the last person to defend her. For starters, I'm a dog lover and shooting a puppy you "hate" because you couldn't train her to hunt pheasant is no way to win my respect. The fact that she told the story on herself in her autobiography, presumably to polish her image as a tough leader, told me everything I needed to know. It should have disqualified her — for almost any job. I couldn't believe President Donald Trump was considering her for Vice President, and I was horrified when he chose her to lead Homeland Security. But that was his choice.

He got exactly what he asked for. She did his bidding. She may have been the face of his immigration agenda, but she was not its author. She was a toady. That it became intolerable reflects on him.

It was, of course, Kristi Noem who, in the hours after federal agents shot and killed intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, held a news conference claiming the victim had been attempting an act of "domestic terrorism" and was brandishing a gun. That wasn't just Kristi's line. Days later, after videos had clearly given the lie to ICE Barbie's claims, Trump himself called Mr. Pretti an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist." That was the Administration's line, not just Noem's.
Updated: Sat Mar 07, 2026

I'm the last person to defend her. For starters, I'm a dog lover and shooting a puppy you "hate" because you couldn't train her to hunt pheasant is no way to win my respect. The fact that she told the story on herself in her autobiography, presumably to polish her image as a tough leader, told me everything I needed to know. It should have disqualified her — for almost any job. I couldn't believe President Donald Trump was considering her for Vice President, and I was horrified when he chose her to lead Homeland Security. But that was his choice.

He got exactly what he asked for. She did his bidding. She may have been the face of his immigration agenda, but she was not its author. She was a toady. That it became intolerable reflects on him.

It was, of course, Kristi Noem who, in the hours after federal agents shot and killed intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, held a news conference claiming the victim had been attempting an act of "domestic terrorism" and was brandishing a gun. That wasn't just Kristi's line. Days later, after videos had clearly given the lie to ICE Barbie's claims, Trump himself called Mr. Pretti an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist." That was the Administration's line, not just Noem's.

The policies she could not defend on Capitol Hill this week were his.

Ms. Noem was grilled about her supposed affair with Corey Lewandowski, Trump's controversial former campaign manager and her right-hand man. But that relationship has been the worst-kept secret in Washington since long before Noem was tapped for the top job. It only became unacceptable when Trump's immigration policies did.

True, she invited ridicule with her photo opportunities dressed for battle outside a concentration camp prison, wearing a $50,000 Rolex. But that's how I saw her. Trump probably thought it was a nice watch. It didn't cost her the job. If foolish photo ops could cost you a job, we'd have a new FBI Director already.

She gave the White House exactly what they wanted. They wanted mass deportations. They didn't recoil at the violence. They welcomed the protests and the chaos that ensued in some places, as an excuse for more force, as proof that we lived in some urban jungle being invaded by aliens. Who set the quotas? Who decided to enforce them? Did she ever say no to the White House on anything?

Her firing was almost inevitable. She went to Capitol Hill, charged with defending the indefensible. It couldn't be done. How do you defend what happened in Minnesota? If that wasn't clear enough, just look at the Republicans. Democrats have been out for Noem for some time. But Republicans, finally faced with the ugly side of Trump's immigration policies, not to mention the polls showing the public has lost confidence, were also asking hard questions, which makes all the difference in the world.

Democrats, she said, attack Republican women by saying "we are either stupid, or we're sluts. I am neither of those." I don't think Kristi Noem is stupid. Not at all. She knew what Donald Trump wanted. She played him perfectly to get on his short list; she delivered on his campaign promises and didn't expect to be punished for flamboyance that hardly matched his own. I don't care who she sleeps with.

So the face of immigration policy has changed. But it wasn't the face that was the real problem. It's the policy. And whether that will change at all remains to be seen.