Noem Defends ICE Incident Account Amid Interview Dispute (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: So there were a few points of contention in my interview with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem this morning, such as when I asked her why she didn't wait for a full and complete investigation before she asserted that the ICE officer in question did nothing wrong.

[00:00:18] Speaker 2: Everything that I've said has been proven to be factual and the truth. This administration wants to operate in transparency. I have the responsibility as the Secretary of Homeland Security to know this information as soon as possible, had just been in Minneapolis the day before, had already had conversations with officers on the ground and supervisors and knew the facts and decided that the department and the people of this country deserve to know the truth of the situation of what had unfolded in Minneapolis.

[00:00:46] Speaker 1: I then pointed out that in point of fact, not everything that she had said about the matter was accurate. With all due respect, Secretary, the first thing you said was, quote, what happened was our ICE officers were out in an enforcement action. They got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis. They were attempting to push out their vehicle and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. That's not what happened. We all saw what happened.

[00:01:14] Speaker 2: It absolutely is what happened.

[00:01:15] Speaker 1: I also asked her about the rules of law enforcement when officers feel as though their lives are being threatened, specifically about what happened five years ago on January 6th. Those are law enforcement officers being physically attacked. By this standard, would any of those officers be justified in shooting and killing the people causing them physical harm?

[00:01:53] Speaker 2: Every single situation is going to rely on the situation those officers are on, that they know that when people are putting hands on them, when they are using weapons against them, when they are physically harming them, that they have the authority to arrest those individuals. The president pardoned every single one of those people. And make sure that they're getting justice for their actions going forward.

[00:02:15] Speaker 1: President Trump pardoned every single one of those people.

[00:02:17] Speaker 2: And every single one of these investigations comes in the full context of the situation on the ground. And that's one thing that President Trump has been so focused on, is making sure that when we're out there, we don't pick and choose which situations are in, which laws are enforced and which ones aren't. Every single one of them is being enforced under the Trump administration.

[00:02:37] Speaker 1: In any case, we appreciate the secretary coming on the show and answering these questions.