Kristi Noem believes she knows why the Republican Party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats swept traditionally Republican strongholds in a nationwide “Blue Wave,” winning Senate races in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Ohio.
President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters are still scrambling to explain the GOP’s devastating Nov. 3 election losses.
Noem, 54, was a high-ranking insider for Trump, 80, before the commander in chief fired her in March. Her tenure at Homeland Security only lasted around 13 months.
Several controversies consumed Noem during her time overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
‘Corrupt’: Kristi Noem Accused of Faking Letterhead to Save Face as Her Rumored Beau Faces the Feds
Despite Trump firing her, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem still weighed in on the midterm results.
Noem parroted a take from conservative economist Larry Kudlow.
“In some sense, Mr. Trump was too successful in the first year and didn’t sell it enough in the second year,” Kudlow, 79, said on Fox News after the GOP’s disastrous night.
Before officials counted all the votes, Noem took to social media to echo a Fox Business host’s spin on the election bloodbath.
“Larry Kudlow is correct. We were too successful the first year of the Trump administration,” Noem tweeted at 9:25 pm ET. The responses to her reasoning were brutal.
Noem didn’t last two years as Homeland Security secretary, leaving trolls plenty of room to mock her claim that Trump 2.0 started as a success.
“So successful that you got fired,” an X user replied under Noem’s tweet. Similarly, someone exclaimed, “Successful at doing everything you promised you wouldn’t do.” One person jokingly nominated Noem for the “copium of the year award.”
“Princess, you’re about to learn about things like subpoena, discovery, and congressional oversight,” someone warned, referring to Democrats likely investigating Trump and his subordinates when the party takes over Congress next January.
Noem also faced ridicule and condemnation on Facebook. She shared the same message in her election-night tweet on that platform.
One person sneeringly wondered, “Is success in the room with us?”
“Hide the puppies! Someone is mad,” another jokester sarcastically asked. “She was part of the downfall and the lawlessness that Corey and her were embezzling millions from the American taxpayers,” noted a third person.
The jab referenced rumors of an alleged affair between Noem and her subordinate, Corey Lewandowski, whom officials later fired.
Noem’s apparent belief that voters had just forgotten Trump’s second-term accomplishments by the time the midterms arrived did not seem convincing enough to sway anyone’s opinion online.
Kudlow’s initial armchair quarterbacking placed him in the hot seat, too. “The Daily Show” lambasted the former director of the National Economic Council in the first Trump administration on Wednesday’s episode.
“Of course, he didn’t sell it enough. Because if there’s one thing we know about Donald Trump, it’s that he hates flaunting his own success,” host Michael Kosta said on the program.
The sarcasm resumed when the 47-year-old stand-up comedian added, “Oh, Donald, you’re great undoing was your humility.”
Kosta also blasted high-profile Trump sycophants, including Fox News host Sean Hannity and former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. He criticized them for refusing to blame Trump for the GOP’s midterm failures.
Kristi Noem Comes to Trump’s Rescue, But Her Own Fall From Grace Makes It Awkward
