Meghan McCain joined in the conservative pile-on toward Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her recent ‘photo ops’ in the field.
Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, attracted attention early on in Donald Trump’s second term for spending time in the field with ICE agents as they looked to solve the crisis at the border.
The DHS Secretary has been dubbed ‘ICE Barbie’ by both fans and critics for her appearance with agents.
After Megyn Kelly called Noem ‘an embarrassment,’ McCain added to the pile of Noem’s right wing critics on her ‘Meghan McCain’s Happy Hour’ show.
‘I don’t think that it is productive to have a full face of hair and makeup and hair extensions – and I used to wear 60 pounds of hair extensions – when you’re doing things like that,’ McCain said of Noem’s adventures.
McCain was specifically critical of a recent mishap where Noem held a gun incorrectly and in the direction of an agent’s head.
‘I’m from Arizona and I’ve been shooting guns since I was a child… she literally could’ve blown that man’s head off, anybody with even a cursory knowledge of gun safety knows that.
The daughter of former Senator John McCain noted that she didn’t ‘want to comment on a woman’s looks’ but suggested: ‘If I were giving her some advice, I would be like, “How about pulling our hair back in a baseball cap and not doing a photo-op?”‘
Meghan McCain (pictured) joined in the conservative pile-on toward Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her recent ‘photo ops’ in the field
McCain was specifically critical of a recent mishap where Noem held a gun incorrectly and in the direction of an agent’s head
Instead, Noem should be doing her job ‘and not turning it into a social media spectacle,’ according to McCain.
The former co-host of The View added that it is ‘hurting’ Noem and anything that hurts her hurts Donald Trump.
‘I like her. I don’t want her to become a parody of herself.’
When DailyMail.com reached out for comment, a spokesperson for DHS praised Noem’s work and said they were unconcerned with the criticism.
‘Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the border is at its most secure in American history,’ Tricia McLaughlin said.
‘The American people can be proud to have a Secretary of Homeland Security who shows up to support our brave law enforcement and get them the tools they need to do their jobs successfully and safely. We are far more concerned with the safety and security of the American people than about online yapping.’
The head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stood flanked by two agents during a video touting the most recent operation rounding up illegal immigrant criminals in Arizona on Tuesday.
But viewers immediately weighed-in on how they said Noem was holding and handling the firearm incorrectly.
‘I like her. I don’t want her to become a parody of herself,’ McCain said of Noem
Social media critics said that Noem was pointing the barrel of the weapon towards the head of the man standing on her left. They also noted how her trigger finger was not pointed away from the trigger and how she was wearing her bulletproof vest askew.
Any gun safety expert or person who regularly handles a firearm would know that when standing near people, the muzzle should at all times be pointed down to the ground. It could also be pointed upwards to the sky – but it should never be on an angle pointed in the direction of another person.
Some compared the way Noem held her gun to the way an ISIS terrorist or other insurgent or untrained renegade might hold a firearm to intimate those around them.
The strap on Noem’s firearm was not around her body, indicating that she was not actively using or prepared to operate the rifle.
But the former South Dakota Governor has made clear that she has shot guns plenty of times in the past – leading to more questions over her poor muzzle control.
Noem wrote in her recent memoir about a time when she shot and killed her family puppy because it was deemed not to have the appropriate temperament of a working ranch dog.
McCain’s comments follow Megyn Kelly’s on her popular SiriusXM show on Wednesday.
The host of The Megyn Kelly Show said ‘she’s doing a great job’ but added that she ‘can’t stand’ Noem’s photo ops.
Megyn Kelly (pictured) called Kristi Noem an ’embarrassment’ who needs to stop her ‘ridiculous photo ops’ while working as Secretary of Homeland Security
‘Just stop trying to glamorize the mission and put yourself in the middle of it as you cosplay ICE agent, which you’re not,’ Kelly said Wednesday.
‘I think they diminish ICE, DHS, CPB, she’s not an agent. She is an administrative policy person appointed by Trump because she was very loyal to him.’
Kelly claimed that Noem ‘looks like I look right now, but she’s out in the field with her gun,’ furthering the ‘ICE Barbie’ image, adding she has to ‘stop with the glam.’
‘No one wants you there. First of all, nobody ever wants the extra lady who doesn’t actually belong. They just don’t.’
The host referenced a photo op where somebody tried to kick Noem and said ‘it’s like she’s looking for an opportunity to have that happen.’
‘I have had it up to here with all of this,’ she said.
Kelly also referenced a recent video where Noem faced criticism for wielding a rifle towards the head of a fellow immigration enforcement official.
‘Why doesn’t somebody save her from herself?’
The host even noted Noem’s rumored affair with former Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski which DailyMail.com revealed in 2023.
Kelly did say, however, that Noem’s work at the border in an administrative role has been excellent.
‘She’s doing a great job, her actual performance as DHS Secretary, in my view, anyway, has been amazing.’
