Kristi Noem Blasts Chicago Mayor as ‘Delusional’ While Backing Trump’s National Guard Deployment

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tore into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over the weekend, accusing him of allowing the city to become a “war zone” and standing in the way of federal law enforcement — just as President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to stabilize the situation on the ground.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Noem didn’t hold back. “Let’s remember that [the] mayor has a less than 6% approval rating in Chicago,” she said. “Overwhelmingly, that man is a failure. He’s a failure for his people and hasn’t stood up for the victims of the crimes that have happened in his city.”

President Trump’s decision to activate 300 National Guard troops in Illinois came after a Border Patrol agent was attacked on Chicago’s South Side Saturday. The agent returned fire and wounded an armed suspect — an incident that further fueled calls for order amid escalating violence.

Noem visited Chicago ahead of the deployment and said residents are siding with the federal officers, not their mayor. “This is a war zone. His city is a war zone, and he’s lying so that criminals can go in there and destroy people’s lives,” she said. “Those individuals that live there are waking up to it.”

She directly tied the rising hostility toward federal agents to Johnson’s public comments. “Absolutely, he’s giving them air cover,” she said, referring to the uptick in threats against law enforcement. “There should be consequences for that and for leaders that stand up and knowingly lie about the situation on the ground.”

Mayor Johnson fired back during an interview on MSNBC, calling the Trump administration “delusional” and accusing them of pushing unconstitutional crackdowns. “What they are promulgating… is not just unconstitutional. It’s dangerous and reckless,” Johnson said. “This president has worked hard to relitigate the Civil War, and we’re not going to stand for it.”

Trump’s aggressive federal immigration enforcement campaign has been met with resistance from Chicago’s Democratic leadership, including Governor JB Pritzker, who opposed the National Guard deployment. But Trump overruled him, citing the deteriorating security conditions and direct threats against federal agents.

Noem added that city officials have gone so far as to block federal law enforcement from using public facilities like restrooms — a symbolic but telling move in her view. “It shows just how far they’re willing to go to obstruct those trying to protect innocent people,” she said.

With Chicago’s crime crisis spiraling and political tensions boiling over, the battle between the Trump administration and city officials shows no sign of cooling down — and Kristi Noem is making it clear whose side she’s on.