‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem had a fiery exchange with CNN host Jake Tapper over the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good at the hands of ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis.
The Secretary of Homeland Security appeared on CNN’s State of the Union for an interview on Sunday, January 11, 2026, when Tapper grilled her over her comments on Good’s tragic demise.
When asked how she could defend the ICE agent and claim the shooting happened in response to an “act of domestic terrorism” just hours after Good’s death, Noem said, “Everything that I’ve said has been proven to be factual.”
“[I] decided that the department and the people of this country deserve to know the truth of the situation of what has unfolded in Minneapolis,” she added.
According to The New York Post, Tapper then highlighted how Noem claimed the ICE agents “were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over,” and said, “That’s not what happened.”
Noem countered, saying, “It absolutely is what happened. [Good] blocked the road for a long time and was yelling at them and impeding a federal law enforcement operation.” She also claimed Ross allegedly visited a nearby hospital to get treatment for being “hit by the vehicle.”
BREAKING: Jake Tapper calls out Kristi Noem’s deluge of lies about the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. We already know that Kristi Noem is a shameless liar but this is next-level. We will not let them gaslight the American people. pic.twitter.com/gRcmfvmag2
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary Account) (@MAGALieTracker) January 11, 2026
When Tapper asked Noem why she was not considering the fact that Good was “trying to move her car and flee and get away” and not necessarily aiming to hit Ross, the DHS Secretary said, “The facts of the situation are that the vehicle was weaponized, and it attacked the law enforcement officer.”
“He defended himself, and he defended those individuals around him,” she stated. Kristi Noem further reiterated that Good committed an “act of domestic terrorism.”
“When there is something that is weaponized to use against the public and law enforcement, that is an act of domestic terrorism,” she stated before slamming Tapper, saying, “You don’t get to change the facts just because you don’t like them.”
Referring to videos of the incident going viral on social media, Noem claimed, “You see how quickly the situation unfolded, how the officer was in front of the vehicle when she sped off. How she ran into him. And how he had to take quick action based on his training to defend himself and his colleagues.”
She further stated, “That’s very clear and factual from the videos that you can see, it’s nobody’s interpretation.” The DHS Secretary also called out Minnesota officials, especially Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, for condemning ICE.
“They’ve extremely politicized and inappropriately talked about the situation on the ground in their city,” she said. “They’ve inflamed the public, they’ve encouraged the kind of destruction and violence that we’ve seen in Minneapolis in the last several days. I would encourage them to grow up,” Noem added.
Jake Tapper calls out Kristi Noem for ICE’s shooting of Renee Nicole Good.
He even showed her a video of a law enforcement officer being beat during the 1.6.2021 insurrection.
She refuses to admit it is okay for Trump supporters to be violent with law enforcement officers and… pic.twitter.com/KF14mFv5zp
— Feisty is proud to be a Democrat! (@FeistyLibLady) January 11, 2026
In order to retaliate, Jake Tapper played clips of Capitol Police officers getting violently attacked by rioters, who he mentioned were pardoned by Trump, during the Jan 6. Capitol riot.
However, Kristi Noem shrugged off the videos, saying, “every single one of these investigations comes in the full context of the situation on the ground.”
Not just Noem, but the entire Trump administration has supported ICE since the incident, claiming Ross shot Renee Nicole Good for “self-defense.” Meanwhile, Democrats have continued to hold the ICE agent accountable for the death of the mother-of-three.
Videos from the scene have shown Good and her partner, Rebecca, having a verbal back-and-forth with Ross. At one point, the agent asked Good to step out of her car, an order she refused to follow.
Shortly after, she attempted to drive away from the scene. While she moved her Honda SUV a few steps towards the agent, the latter fired three shots towards the driver’s seat, leaving Good dead with a gunshot wound. The incident is currently being investigated by the FBI.
