California Gov. Gavin Newsom took a swipe at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after her cringey “warzone” photo-op at an ICE base in Portland blew up online.
During Tuesday’s visit to Oregon City, Noem, who’s been jokingly dubbed “ICE Barbie,” was joined by MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson. He praised her for staring down an “army of Antifa,” though video from the event showed only a few calm protesters, and one person in a chicken costume outside the ICE facility.
It didn’t take long for Newsom’s office to troll the ICE Barbie by sharing the image with the sarcastic caption, “PORTLAND’S WARZONE.”
The trolling continued with a ground-up shot of Noem looking down at protesters, captioned in classic MAGA meme fashion: “KOSPLAY KRISTI IS IN PORTLAND! HIDE YO DOGS!”
KOSPLAY KRISTI IS IN PORTLAND!
HIDE YO DOGS! pic.twitter.com/2qfTgI6cUb
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) October 8, 2025
Protesters in Portland have been demonstrating against ICE for weeks, and some of them took it up a notch with their choice of outfit. Some demonstrators don eye-catching costumes, including chickens and inflatable frog suits.
The Trump administration has branded many of these protesters as “domestic terrorists,” using the clashes as fuel for its tough-on-crime crackdowns in Democrat-run cities.
In Johnson’s video, Noem was asked what she thinks of the demonstrators, particularly the man in a chicken costume. The ICE Barbie declared that while the protests are “peaceful,” the man in a chicken costume “can do better,” while the rest are “uneducated and ill-informed.”
At one point in the clip, a man can be heard yelling through a megaphone, “Come on down, I’ve got a Subway sandwich for you!” which was in clear reference to an incident where the man threw a sandwich at a federal officer in Washington, D.C.
Noem’s Portland visit came just days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from sending out-of-state National Guard troops into the city.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump in 2019, seemed incredulous that the administration tried sending troops from other states just hours after her ruling, pointing out that the Constitution doesn’t suddenly change at state lines, the Associated Press reported.
“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” she questioned. “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order? Why is this appropriate?”
In late September, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, “At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement shared by The Daily Beast that the “facts haven’t changed: President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement. We expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
