Donald Trump expressed surprise upon discovering that Kristi Noem’s husband secretly engages in cross-dressing, a revelation experts suggest could have posed a threat to national security. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday, the former President shared his reaction to the news.
The outlet reported that Bryon Noem, 56, had sent revealing photos of himself in female attire, complete with fake breasts, to fetish models online. This revelation has raised concerns about potential security implications.
A representative for Kristi Noem, 54, stated that the family was caught off guard by Bryon’s cross-dressing activities, noting that his wife of 34 years is deeply upset by the disclosure.
This development comes just weeks after Trump dismissed Kristi from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security. Her removal followed bipartisan criticism over the department’s strict immigration policies and a contentious $220 million ad campaign that lacked presidential approval.
During his conversation with the Daily Mail, Trump admitted his astonishment at the Noem family’s acknowledgment of Bryon’s behavior, which had been detailed in the report.
“They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,” Trump commented during the call.
‘I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it,’ Trump added.
Bryon sent his secret roster of online acquaintances at least $25,000 via Cash App and PayPal.
Trump told the Daily Mail he was unaware of Bryon’s lewd online behavior and said he feels sorry for Noem’s family
The Daily Mail published photos that Bryon Noem sent of himself to fetish porn models online where he appears to have stuffed two balloons inside his shirt to resemble breasts
Now, national security experts say his shocking activity could have left his wife Kristi open to blackmail when she was in Trump’s Cabinet.
As head of the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, Noem was entrusted with safeguarding some of the government’s most sensitive national security information.
She was fired by Trump earlier this month after a controversial $220 million taxpayer-funded ‘vanity ad’ campaign was uncovered. Noem told lawmakers that the President had approved the advertisement to which he furiously denied.
Multiple senior DHS sources familiar told the Daily Mail that knowledge of Bryon’s online activity would have disqualified Noem from receiving her top secret security clearance over fears she could be blackmailed by foreign entities.
‘I can vouch for the blackmail claim,’ one current official said. ‘This would have been a disqualification for national security eligibility for anyone else whose spouse was hiding this.’
The President did not respond directly to the Daily Mail’s question about Noem’s alleged affair with his longtime loyalist Corey Lewandowski.
However, Bryon confessed to some of the online adult models that his wife was engaged in an affair with Lewandowski.
When one of the models asked Bryon about the affair between his wife and Lewandowski, he replied: ‘I know. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
In the photos, published by the Daily Mail alongside a trove of explicit messages, he appears to have stuffed two balloons inside his shirt to resemble breasts – positioning the knots to mimic nipples.
Some photos show the conservative father-of-three puckering his lips into the camera. In another picture, he is seen wearing figure-hugging green leggings.
When reached for comment, Bryon did not deny having explicit conversations or sharing photos of himself dressed as a woman.
The Mail also asked Bryon if his indiscreet comments about his wife could have endangered national security by exposing her to the threat of blackmail.
‘Yeah, I made no comments like that, that would lead to that,’ Bryon replied. ‘I deny the second part of that.’
Kristi and Bryon Noem met in high school, married in 1992, and raised daughters Kassidy, 31, Kennedy, 29, and a son, Booker, 23.
The Daily Mail revealed in 2023 that Noem and her close adviser Lewandowski have had an alleged years-long affair.
Both Noem and Lewandowski, who is married, have long denied the affair to reporters.
However, when lawmakers on Capitol Hill in early March asked Noem under oath whether she had ever had ‘sexual relations’ with Lewandowski, she did not issue a denial.
When lawmakers on Capitol Hill in early March asked Noem under oath whether she had ever had ‘sexual relations’ with Lewandowski, she did not issue a denial
Kristi and Bryon Noem met in high school, married in 1992, and raised three children
Lewandowski brazenly reappeared at Noem’s side during her official trip to Guyana last week
‘I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee,’ she replied at the time.
When asked about reports of the affairs, Trump stated in February that he was unaware of the situation.
‘I don’t know about that. I mean, I haven’t heard that. I’ll find out about it, but I have not heard that.’
Noem remains in government, currently serving as Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas – a newly created role focused on Western Hemisphere security.
Lewandowski recently accompanied Noem on a diplomatic trip, but State Department officials said he was not acting in an official government role.
