Revealed: Even Texas officials are mocking Kristi Noem as 'Homeland Barbie'

28 July

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sits on a horse as she speaks to the press upon arrival to the Campo De Mayo Military Base in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, July 28, 2025. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS

Some Texas officials in the county recently devastated by fatal flooding were found to have been laughing at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem behind her back.

The Daily Beast reported Monday on newly revealed texts that San Antonio, Texas ABC affiliate KSAT obtained between Kerrville, Texas city manager Dalton Rice and a staffer. The texts showed the two mocking Noem after she held a press conference in Kerr County as bodies were being pulled from the Guadalupe River.

"Just saw you met Homeland Barbi, how is she?!?!?!" The staffer texted Rice.

"Beahahaha basically Homeland Barbie," he responded.

The Kerrville officials in question have not yet responded to KSAT's requests for comment, though "Homeland Barbie" and "ICE Barbie" have become go-to nicknames for the Homeland Security secretary since Noem's confirmation earlier this year. Even SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly remarked during an April episode of her show that Noem's costumed "photo-ops" were a distraction from her agency's mission.

“Why does she have to keep doing this? She’s doing a great job, her actual performance as DHS secretary, in my view, anyway, has been amazing,” Kelly said. “Just stop trying to glamorize the mission and put yourself in the middle of it as you cosplay ICE agent, which you’re not. I can’t stand these photo-ops.”

138 people across Texas were killed in the early July floods that wreaked havoc long the banks of the Guadalupe River, including 108 in Kerr County, according to KSAT. Noem's leadership atop the Department of Homeland Security was criticized for a cost-cutting policy that prevented Federal Emergency Management Agency officials from responding in a timely fashion to evacuate residents in the path of danger.

Click here to read the Beast's full article (subscription required), and click here to read KSAT's report in its entirety.

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