'Is that a joke?' Kristi Noem hammered by Dem lawmaker for 'out of touch' crime claim
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks to employees at the Department of Homeland Security, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington, U.S. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Reacting to comments made by Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem during an appearance on CBS Sunday, the ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee called her out for lying and then proceeded to rake her over the coals.

Appearing on MSNBC with fill-in host Erielle Resheff, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) was shown a clip of Noem stating Donald Trump saved Los Angeles from being destroyed by a crime wave.


Specifically, she claimed that without the president’s deployment of the National Guard to LA, “That city would have burned down if left to the devices of the mayor and the governor of that state.”


“Your reaction? I see you smirking there,” the MSNBC host prompted her guest.

”I mean, it's hard not to. I mean, is that a joke?” he responded. “I mean, it's just completely outrageous and out of touch. I mean, obviously Los Angeles, besides having seen decreases over the last 10, 20, 30 years overall in crime, the fact that LA wouldn't have been standing had Donald Trump not intervened is just is a fabrication.”

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“All they do is they look at the TV and they lie,” he accused. “And I think people know across here and across the country that the National Guard and the military shouldn't be sent into cities. What cities want is support. They want additional support to hire more police officers, for more park space, for libraries.”


"And certainly at this moment, right now, with these ICE raids that are happening across cities, across the country, everyone agrees that, yes, we don't want, of course, criminals,” he elaborated. “If you're here and you're a criminal, you shouldn't be in this country –– we understand that. But that's not what's happening. Most of the people being right now detained or abducted don't have criminal histories, they are people that are working at our car washes, at our restaurants, at our hotels. These are hardworking people.”


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