Claim:
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanked President Donald Trump for an uneventful 2025 hurricane season in the U.S., saying, “You kept the hurricanes away.”
Rating:
Context
During a publicly broadcast Cabinet meeting Dec. 2, 2025, Noem truly said, “Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. And so, FEMA, FEMA … you, even you kept the hurricanes away, so we appreciate that.” However, audible laughter as well as Noem then continuing her FEMA comment showed the room received the “you kept the hurricanes away” remark as nothing more than an off-the-cuff joke.
A rumor that circulated online in early December 2025 claimed U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanked President Donald Trump for keeping hurricanes away from the country through the 2025 hurricane season, following a remark Noem made during a publicly broadcast White House Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2.
For example, on Dec. 2, the progressive Occupy Democrats Facebook page posted (archived) an image displaying photos of Noem and Trump. The post’s caption read in part, “Kristi Noem goes full North Korea and thanks Dear Leader for…keeping hurricanes away?”
(Occupy Democrats/Facebook)
That post featured a comment from a page manager with a link to video (archived) of Noem’s alleged remark.
The post’s caption continued, in part, as follows:
During today’s obedience-displaying and shameless a**-kissing convention that the Trump team calls a “cabinet meeting,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanked Trump for keeping hurricanes away. Yes, keeping hurricanes away.
“Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. And so FEMA — you even kept the hurricanes away! — And FEMA is deploying resources and dollars 150% faster than ever before. So somebody does have something bad that happens to them, you are immediately there helping them and telling them they have the resources to get back up on their feet.”
Clearly, Trump simply took his big black marker and drew arrows telling the hurricanes to go somewhere else! Masterfully done, Mr. President!
Publishers and users also shared the claim on Bluesky, Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok (archived), X (archived) and YouTube.
In short, the quote was correctly attributed to Noem, who made the remark as an off-the-cuff joke.
As the video showed, Noem truly said to Trump, “Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. And so, FEMA, FEMA … you, even you kept the hurricanes away, so we appreciate that.” Noem then continued with her remark about the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which she previously attempted to begin speaking about. Laughs audible in videos from the meeting — as well as the continuation of her FEMA comment — showed the room received Noem’s “you kept the hurricanes away” remark as nothing more than ad-libbed humor.
Snopes contacted DHS and the White House by email to ask about users’ claims, including the many posts that did not mention the laughs and the fact that the room received the comment as a joke. We will update this story if we receive further information.
Full meeting videos and 2025 storms
The moment in which Noem mentions hurricanes occurs at the 1:24:00 mark in the official White House YouTube channel’s video of the Cabinet meeting:
The CNBC YouTube channel also features a video showing Trump’s reaction to the same comments, beginning at the 1:24:05 mark:
USA Today reported no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. in 2025. In other significant weather events occurring during the year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, along with other elements, combined to form rainfall that resulted in the July flash floods that killed more than 135 people in Texas, including children and adults at summer camps. Also in July, at least six people died in North Caroline as a result of flooding from the remnants of Tropic Storm Chantal.
For further reading, we previously reported about other rumors coming out of the same meeting, including the widespread claims that videos showed Trump falling asleep, and that the name card for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth displayed the misspelled title “Ssecretary of War.”
Sources
Borresen, Jennifer. “Why the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Was Unlike Any in the Past Decade.” USA TODAY, 29 Nov. 2025, https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2025/11/29/2025-hurricane-season-ends/87128985007/.
Danielle, Monica. Flash Flooding Kills 6 in North Carolina after Days of Heavy Rain. AccuWeather. 11 July 2025, https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/8-dead-in-north-carolina-after-tropical-storm-chantal/1793741.
Hoell, Andrew, et al. “Weather Whiplash in Texas: Drought to Flood.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Physical Sciences Laboratory, 11 Aug. 2025.
“President Trump Holds a Cabinet Meeting at the White House — 12/2/2025.” YouTube, CNBC Television, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/sam5neuduko.
“President Trump Hosts a Cabinet Meeting, Dec. 2, 2025.” YouTube, The White House, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZSd7jn9CSc.
Sharif, Hatim. “Why Texas Hill Country, Where a Devastating Flood Killed More than 135 People, Is One of the Deadliest Places in the US for Flash Flooding.” The Conversation, 5 July 2025, http://theconversation.com/why-texas-hill-country-where-a-devastating-flood-killed-more-than-135-people-is-one-of-the-deadliest-places-in-the-us-for-flash-flooding-260555.
