Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, is fuming with anger. The self-styled extremist, better known as “ICE Barbie” among both critics and fans, accused CBS on Sunday of “shamefully” editing her Face the Nation appearance with Ed O’Keefe, in which the network was trying to “whitewash” what she said regarding Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A storm blew out after CBS broadcast a shorter version of the 16-minute, 40-second interview, which cut more than four minutes of Noem’s views.
With a warning to viewers, Kristi Noem quickly made her case on X (formerly Twitter), posting side-by-side video of her original interview and the on-air edit via CBS. The message in the caption read, “This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety. Watch for the part of my interview that @CBS tried to cover up.”
Noem accused Garcia, who has been charged with federal human smuggling, of being a child predator, domestic abuser, and member of the MS-13 gang in the unaired segment. Garcia agreed to a not-guilty plea and denied all claims except smuggling charges.
Though CBS later uploaded the full interview to YouTube, as you can see above, the action did not reduce the drama much.
As reported by The Daily Beast, Kristi Noem’s DHS team went all out, sending the raw footage and a press release objecting to the network’s edit. Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the White House, reposted the video with a simple but insulting “WOW.”
Garcia’s story has spurred yet another immigration row, and Noem has been instrumental.
After being wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March because of what DHS refers to as an “administrative error,” he was returned to the United States in June, released from a Tennessee prison in August, and then arrested by ICE again three days following that!
His legal trial now involves public appeals for justice, a plea deal offer associated with Costa Rica, and the risk of being deported to Uganda. According to The New York Times, Garcia told the media outside an ICE office last week: “To all of the families who have also suffered separations (…) even though this injustice is hurting us hard, we must not lose hope.”
HOLY CRAP
CBS EDITED Secretary Noem’s response and CUT OUT the part where she described illegal alien Kilmar Garcia’s MS-13 gang and human trafficking activity pic.twitter.com/vu29B0pE5o
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 31, 2025
On the other hand, Kristi Noem has been using Garcia as an example of what she claims are systemic immigration failures.
She told CBS, “We will continue to (…) make sure that he doesn’t walk free in the United States of America. He’s not an American citizen, and he shouldn’t be here (…) we should ensure that we leave every avenue on the table.”
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In a post-election scenario where social media receipts regularly outnumber broadcast news edits, the uproar about this TV edit only points to a growing hostile connection that exists between politicians and news organizations.
Is CBS News looking for another lawsuit? That’s the only conclusion one can possibly come to after this past weekend. The network that has recently paid out a settlement to President Donald Trump for deceptively editing a rambling question by then-Vice… https://t.co/koFDsHhaTj pic.twitter.com/ISmVM5znig
— The Western Journal (@WesternJournalX) September 1, 2025
Regardless of this, CBS has not yet publicly addressed the allegations.
Nonetheless, considering the growing popularity of Kristi Noem’s X video, they may one day have to explain their editing choices!
NEXT UP: ICE Barbie Kristi Noem Teases Bigger Immigration Operations In Chicago With ‘Nothing Off The Table’
