Noem, Kristi

Stupid Things I Say

VOTING

Democracy is when voters choose their leaders. Autocracy is when leaders choose their voters. [Seth Cotlar – ]

Kristi Noem: “When it gets to Election Day, we’ve been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.”

SUPER BOWL HALF TIME SHOW

Kristi Noem: The NFL “suck[s]” for picking Bad Bunny and that the league “won’t be able to sleep at night,” in a politically charged rant criticizing the selection.

HABEAS CORPUS

In a Senate budget hearing, Noem said habeas corpus is “a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

“I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but I believe it does [provide a legal rationale for suspending habeas corpus].” — speaking in a House committee context when asked if immigration qualifies as an “invasion.” [Reuters.com, Ted Hesson, May 14, 2025 – US homeland chief says illegal immigration levels could warrant suspending habeas corpus]

Legal experts immediately corrected her — habeas corpus is actually the right to a court review of detention, not a tool to remove people. This prompted public ridicule and headlines accusing her of misunderstanding basic legal principles.

KIM JONG UN and A DOG

In her memoir, she published stories claiming she had met foreign leaders like Kim Jong Un, which multiple news outlets later reported as false. She also described how she shot and killed her young dog after calling it “untrainable,” a personal anecdote that received broad media attention and public mockery.

NATIVE INDIANS

As governor, Noem said that children on some tribal reservations “don’t have any hope” and that tribal leaders were benefiting from drug cartels — remarks that tribal officials called offensive and inaccurate, leading all nine federally recognized tribes in South Dakota to officially ban her from their lands

IMMIGATION

At a meeting, Noem claimed “half of Minnesota visas are fraudulent” and implied state officials were responsible, drawing criticism that she was exaggerating or mischaracterizing data to attack political opponents.

Reporters and commentators have noted instances where Noem snapped at questions or offered defensive answers on complex issues such as ICE operations or immigration policy — sometimes interpreted as flustered or evasive.