At the White House’s “antifa roundtable” this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem peddled a conspiracy theory that was weird, even by 2025 standards.
“I was in Portland yesterday and had the chance to visit with the governor of Oregon and also the mayor there in town, and they are absolutely covering up the terrorism that is hitting their streets,” Noem told Donald Trump, adding that Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson might even be “helping antifa cover it up.”
In other words, according to the South Dakota Republican, antifa is committing acts of terrorism in Portland, but people don’t know that, because state and local officials are somehow in league with the radicals, “covering up” the anti-fascist activists’ violent misdeeds.
A day later, however, Noem went further, expanding the number of people involved in the conspiracy.
“I was in Portland and met with the governor and mayor and chief of police and superintendent of the highway patrol,” the head of the Department of Homeland Security said at a White House Cabinet meeting. “They are all lying and disingenuous and dishonest people.”
It’s not often that a DHS secretary tells the public that leading law enforcement personnel are not to be trusted, but Noem went there anyway.
She’s not alone. A reporter told White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt this week that she’d spoken to the police chief of Portland, who said the president’s hysterical claims about rampant violence and lawlessness “don’t match up” with reality. Leavitt dismissed the local police chief as an example of “partisan Democrat [sic] officials who are opposed to everything this president does.”
This isn’t limited to Oregon, either. As Trump tries to deploy troops into Chicago, there have been conflicts between local law enforcement and administration personnel.
For good measure, let’s not forget that Trump’s Justice Department also recently opened an investigation into the police department in Washington, D.C., over crime statistics the White House didn’t like.
In mid-May, during National Police Week, the White House team marked the occasion with a straightforward social media message. It read: “This White House will NEVER betray our law enforcement officers. Not now. Not ever. We stand with the brave men and women who risk everything to keep our communities safe.”
The truth, however, is that Trump, like many convicted felons, has had a difficult relationship with law enforcement. It’s a bit like the administration’s approach to the faith community: The White House loves religious leaders, just so long as they stick to the approved script. When they stray, they become political opponents.
The same is true with law enforcement. As The New York Times summarized earlier this year, “Trump supports the police, just as long as they support him.”
The president certainly likes to pretend to be closely allied with the police. Indeed, the day after his second inaugural, the Republican told reporters, “I am the friend of police.”
On the other hand, Trump has also spent years railing against “dirty cops,” while condemning law enforcement officials he dislikes as, among other things, “fascists.” He has even expressed support for prosecuting members of the Capitol Police, despite the fact that they did nothing wrong.
Trump’s relationship with law enforcement took an especially ugly turn for the worse when he issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of Jan. 6 criminals, including violent felons who were in prison for assaulting police officers.
Some in the law enforcement community, including current and former prosecutors, were understandably appalled by Trump’s decision.
That was when this year was just getting underway. As the year nears its end, the White House posture toward law enforcement has taken yet another antagonistic turn.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
