Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday night that a recent “menacing” post from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) press office “panicked” her family and friends.
“It was cryptic, and it was really menacing, I would say, Sean. It immediately panicked my family and friends. Within, I would say, a couple of minutes of that being posted, I started to get text messages and phone calls. Family, my kids saying, “Are you okay, Mom? Are you fine?” They know the threats that I’ve had,” Noem said during her appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
“They know the threats that they’ve had, the things that have happened to them because of politicians like this that say things and somebody grabs onto them that has an agenda,” the DHS chief told host Sean Hannity.
Newsom’s office said in a social platform X post on Saturday that Noem is “going to have a bad day today. You’re welcome, America.”
The post ignited pushback from President Trump’s administration officials.
“This reads like a threat. This is ugly, @GavinNewsom,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in response.
“To make a threat like this, especially on the memorial weekend for Charlie, is beyond the pale and totally disgusting. This is what happens when Gavin Newsom lets deranged Leftist lunatics post messages on his behalf,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said.
Newsom responded to McLaughlin’s post, sharing a “SpongeBob SquarePants” meme text, adding “tHiS ReAdS LiKe a tHrEaT.”
Noem said Monday night that “cartels and criminals” have threatened her and her family before.
“So when you get a post like that by a governor, immediately, you know, my staff and family think, ‘What is going on? What does he mean?’ and we’re trying to figure it out. So you know, this is a day and age where we’ve always known that words matter, but there’s been real consequences that we have realized that have happened to incredible people like Charlie [Kirk] that we’ll have to live with forever, and I hope we all learn from that,” Noem told Hannity, referencing the recent killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.
I hope we all learn that it’s time to start listening to each other, having civil discourse, and stop ridiculous, irresponsible posts like Governor Newsom put out there,” she added.
