‘Something happened’: Victor Davis Hanson admits he’s ‘baffled’ by Kristi Noem
Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson says he’s “baffled” by the transformation of former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, saying she “morphed into an urban creature” in the Trump administration, and “there were these accusations that she was having an affair.”
On Thursday, President Trump announced Noem would be replaced at DHS by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., after two contentious hearings in which members of Congress pressed her on costly ads for her agency, two fatal Minnesota shootings by federal agents and an alleged affair with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski.
“I’m baffled by her because I had followed vaguely,” Hanson said on Tuesday’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”
“I think she was a congressional representative before she became governor. And I saw a picture in 2015 or something with her husband,” Hanson explained.
“She had no makeup on. She had kind of a shag haircut, short haircut. Fresh face. They were very intimate. I don’t mean in the sexual sense, but, you know, close … She looked happy. She looked unaffected.”
“And to see her today with those long extensions and facial surgery – it’s sad. And she was a very effective governor,” he said. “So something happened, and that happened might be something connected with higher prominence, money – I don’t know what it was, attention – but she needs to get back to her original roots as a Dakotan and a family, you know, wife and kids,” he added.
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“And then we get into this: the reason that people liked her in the Dakota is she represented Dakota values. Maybe she still does, I hope she does, with family, husband, nuclear family, farm, ranching,” Hanson said. “But then, with Corey Lewandowski, she kind of morphed into an urban creature. And then there were these accusations that she was having an affair.”
“Somebody should have said to her, ‘Look, I know you want high-profile coverage. I know you want bombastic language, but that’s the president, not you. You’re his servant,'” he added. “‘So what you want to do is scale back the travel, wear plain clothes, or just wear workmanlike clothes that reflect what you’re doing. I wouldn’t try to wear a lot of makeup. I wouldn’t have any commercials in which you were in, and I would be very careful with the budget. And you’ve got to get rid of Cory Lewandowski.'”
During the March 4 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, when U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., asked Noem if she “had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski,” Noem replied, “I am shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee.”
OOF Kristi Noem did NOT DENY ever having an affair with Corey Lewandowski:
REP: At any time during your tenure as director of Homeland Security, have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?
NOEM: Mr. Chairman, I am shocked that we are going down and peddling… pic.twitter.com/jsK5ObxnYK
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) March 4, 2026
Lewandowski, a longtime Trump ally who managed the president’s 2016 presidential campaign, is an adviser to DHS.
“He is a special government employee who works for the White House. There are thousands of them in the federal government,” Noem told Congress, saying Lewandowski has no authority to make DHS decisions.
The relationship between Noem and Lewandowski – both of whom are married to other people – has been the topic of previous speculation, yet each has denied allegations of a rumored affair.
The New York Post reported Friday that family members of Kristi’s husband Bryon Noem “are hoping he finally leaves his wife … after the ultimate ‘humiliation’ from her alleged affair with a top adviser – but predict he’ll continue to stay in his marriage due to his Christian faith and commitment to his vows.”
“He said he decided about 20 years ago that it was his calling from God to support her in whatever she decided to do,” one family member said. “So he has put up with the humiliation. We will see if he sticks with her now.”
“I think it’s him honoring the calling from God,” the family member added. “But it seems like there would be some limit to that.”
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