'Doth protest too much': Critics flag White House's aggressive denial of shocking story
The White House came out hard Sunday against a new report from The Bulwark that suggested Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem might be on the outs in the Trump administration, and in such a fierce manner that one prominent critic couldn’t help but point out what they characterized as an overly-defensive rebuttal.
“Anonymous former staffers pretend to know what POTUS is thinking and the Bulwark treats them as credible?” wrote White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson in a social media post on X, responding to the Bulwark’s reporting.
“This ‘report’ – and the Bulwark – is total FAKE NEWS! Secretary Noem is doing a great job implementing the President’s agenda and Making America Safe Again.”
The Bulwark spoke with who it described as three former DHS officials who served in both the Biden and Trump administration – officials who are still in contact with the agency’s current staff – who told the outlet that it was “made clear” that President Donald Trump was, in fact, “considering moving on from Noem,” and “really soon.”
Jackson refuted the reporting, labeling the entire outlet as “fake news,” drawing the attention of conservative Bill Kristol, editor at large of the Bulwark, political commentator and former government official.
“Methinks the White House deputy press secretary doth protest too much,” Kristol wrote in response to Jackson’s sharp denial.
The Bulwark reported that while Trump was largely pleased with Noem’s work leading DHS, it was her employment of Corey Lewandowski as her chief advisor that has created a rift between her and other top Trump officials.
Once Trump’s campaign manager, Lewandowski has reportedly been acting as Noem’s “de facto chief of staff,” inserting himself into the decision-making process and creating chaos at the agency. Lewandowski was reportedly denied the official role of DHS chief of staff out of concern of his relationship with Noem amid longstanding rumors of the two having an affair.