NASHVILLE — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seemed deflated and shied away from mentioning President Trump’s name directly when she took the stage at a police sergeants conference moments after she was publicly fired Thursday, attendees told The Post.
“She was her normal self, except she maybe sounded a little less energetic than usual,” said one attendee who was in the room while Noem, 54, delivered the remarks at the Sergeants Benevolent Association Major Cities Conference.
“But she also didn’t mention Trump’s name very many times — she just referred to the ‘administration’ — normally I think she says his name more,” the woman noted.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem speaking at the Sergeants Benevolent Association conference in Nashville moments after President Trump announced he is firing her on March 5, 2026. via REUTERS
Trump said he is naming Noem his special envoy for the Shield of the Americas. via REUTERSEveryone at the conference had seen the news before Noem went on stage. Trump announced on Truth Social that Noem would be replaced as Homeland Security secretary by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) at the end of the month.
One New York state trooper noted that several other attendees wondered “if she would even show up.”
Still, he didn’t think the news was negative for Noem, as her new gig will be a “promotion,” he speculated.
“I didn’t feel like, ‘Oh no, this poor woman.’ It didn’t even seem like that big of news to me. She’s just getting transferred — it’s a promotion. So I was wondering if she was going to say something about it but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” he said.
One attendee told The Post Noem seemed less energetic then normal and rarely referenced the president by name. NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Noem hugging Lee Greenwood on stage at the event. NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesEx-Secretary Kristi Noem’s most memorable photo ops during her tenure at DHS:













“It was like nothing had changed,” he said of her speech. “Even if she had seen it, though, it’s not like it’s bad news for her.”
Trump noted that Noem would become special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new position overseeing security in the Western Hemisphere.
The entire audience was aware of Noem’s firing and some wondered if she would even show up for the speech. NICOLE HESTER / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesHere’s the latest on Kristi Noem’s husband’s bizarre ‘bimbofication’ fetish scandal
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Another New York law enforcement officer said he took Noem noting that she was going to meet Trump on Saturday — which the president also wrote in the X post — as acknowledgment of her reassignment.
“She said she was going to meet with Trump on Saturday during her speech, so I assume that’s to talk about the transfer and all that,” he said.






