The head of Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security was pressed this week by a CNN host on whether it was her view that one of America’s two main political parties amounted to a terrorist group — and couldn’t bring herself to refute that position.
Kristi Noem was interviewed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday and asked about the broader administration’s response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, where law enforcement says a sniper who allegedly stated he was angered by Kirk’s right-wing views killed the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder earlier this month.
Noem was asked by Collins about comments from senior White House aide Stephen Miller, who vowed to go even further and crack down on left-wing organizations with the power of the federal government. Miller declared after Kirk’s death that there was “a vast domestic terror movement” active on the American left and went further, suggesting it was the entire Democratic Party: “The Democrat Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization.”
Pressed repeatedly whether she believed that characterization was accurate, Noem would not give a direct answer.
“As the DHS secretary, would you say that Democrats are a domestic extremist organization? Yes or no?” Collins asked Noem at one point, who responded: “I think their views are extreme and don’t align with the American people at all.”
“I just think the question is, would you label them a domestic extremist organization as Stephen Miller did?” Collins asked at another point.
“I would love to see these Democrats denounce these criminals, these individuals that are out there trafficking drugs and trafficking our children, raping our girls and boys and selling them, and people that are committing criminal acts, robbing and murdering individuals. I haven’t seen these Democrats do that, and they should.” Noem responded.
In the wake of the shooting the administration has become engulfed in a new battle over First Amendment rights as supporters of the president, including some with direct ties to Trump, launched campaigns aimed at identifying and publicly shaming private citizens who reacted a variety of emotions ranging from disinterest to outright glee at news of Kirk’s murder.
In particular, Attorney General Pam Bondi was caught up in controversy after she suggested that the administration would begin a crackdown on hate speech, something that is protected under the First Amendment so long as it does not incite violence. She later walked back that pledge under pressure.
Miller’s suggestion that the entire Democratic Party could be criminalized as a “domestic extremist organization” would effectively end American democracy if actually achieved. Though any attempt to do so would almost certainly be defeated by court challenges, the suggestion of criminalizing America’s sole well-established political opposition is a tacit admission from Miller, at least, that he does not believe dissent of MAGA should be legal.
The president is unlikely to go as far as Miller would like, and instead is reportedly planning an executive order declaring anti-facsist groups aligned with the “Antifa” ideology as extremist groups and direct greater federal surveillance of such organizations.
Democrats roundly denounced Kirk’s murder but have split over demands from the GOP to memorialize the far-right speaker in Congress and elsewhere.
Many progressives highlighted racist and misogynistic views espoused by Kirk as part of his political activism after his death, including Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota whose effort to repudiate Kirk’s beliefs was subsequently targeted in the House of Representatives by an unsuccessful Republican censure bid.
