5 Times Kristi Noem's Confusing Costumes Had Us Scratching Our Heads

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump's controversial new homeland security secretary, has been involved in a number of controversies. From killing her dog to proudly bragging that she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un when she didn't to being banned from tribal lands in South Dakota while she was governor of the state, Noem has quite the contentious history in public service. Along with those political and personal scandals, her sense of style has repeatedly come under fire from critics. Among other things, Noem typically rocks some pretty disastrous hair extensions while there are also theories that Noem may have had plastic surgery. 

And then there are all the outfits that have left people laughing (not in a good way) or just plain puzzled. In particular, the politician seems to enjoy leaning into a cowboy look, which makes sense given her background, but more often than not it falls really flat, coming off more like a costume than anything else. But the wild west look isn't the only one that Noem has donned that seems out of place. Now that she's homeland security secretary, some of her outfits have left people arguing that it looks like she's constantly playing a part. But her love of a themed outfit didn't start there; as governor, she put on a range of stereotypical costumes for a series of ads.

When Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota, she made a series of commercials to help encourage people to move to the state for work. This in itself is reasonable enough. What was unexpected was the actual conceit for the ads, which featured Noem dressed up as the laborers that she hoped would settle there. The "Bright Side" commercial was about electricians and saw the governor with her hair in pigtails while sporting overalls. She's a construction worker in the "Building in America" ad, in a hard hat and jeans, and an accountant with glasses and a pocket protector for the "Kiss My Abacus" commercial.

We get that they're ads so it's not real, but clearly if there's an opportunity to dress up, Noem is going to take it. "It's as if she's The Village people all in one," one person on X, formerly known as Twitter, joked. Another user felt that the ads were just a cynical attempt to big up the governor's ego, replying to Noem's post about one of them by quipping: "Look at me! I'm so important! I'm the best! The biggest narcissist in the state of South Dakota!"

The advertisements cost a reported $5 million. And, as one particularly harsh assessment from the Dakota Free Press pointed out, "The campaign's most accurate aspect is showing Kristi Noem attempting to do work for which she is not qualified." We're not sure that was exactly what the politician and her team were going for.

When Kristi Noem appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" in February 2025, she donned a cream colored cowboy hat for the occasion. The White House staffer was at the Texas border at the time but she was previously out on a ride with border patrol agents, and they reportedly gifted her the hat. As a result, we can kind of understand her wearing it. But indoors, for a TV appearance? Not so much. During the same visit, Noem was also spotted wearing a baseball cap. Maybe she didn't want to be on TV with hat hair but she must have made the conscious choice to swap to the cowboy hat for the interview.

Whatever the reason, the homeland security secretary's look came off more like playing dress up to people on social media. One person on X posted simply, "All hat no cattle" in response while another noted, "This week she's cosplaying a 'rodeo princess'... or 'new sheriff in town.'" Others came after her glam, with one critic suggesting, "I bet her eyelash and makeup bill has to be budgeted."

Granted, Noem did grow up in a family of South Dakota farmers and ranchers. Naturally, this meant she spent a lot of time outside with her father, telling Elysian, "We enjoyed chasing cows, driving tractors, and working together." So the former governor knows what a working cowboy life looks like — as opposed to when Lauren Boebert wears a cowboy hat, which seems entirely for PR purposes.

For a January 2025 interview on Fox News' "Ingraham Angle," which took place less than a week after Kristi Noem was confirmed as the new secretary of the department of homeland security, she showed up to the studio wearing a U.S. Border Patrol cap and a matching jacket in a military green shade. The politician accessorized with long pearl earrings. We understand the challenges that can come with a woman in a leadership position being taken seriously, and our guess is that Noem was going for a mix of authoritative gravitas with a touch of femininity. But it just didn't work.

"'ICE Barbie' Kristi Noem appears on Fox News in full cosplay as a Border Patrol Agent," one person on X wrote of the look. Another asserted, "Playing dress up with a serious matter like this is insulting to both actual law enforcement officials — as all as the people (often children) who are targeted." The argument could be made that the former governor is simply wearing the uniform befitting her role. However, the last woman to hold the position was Kirstjen Nielsen, who served during Donald Trump's first term in office, and we can't find any evidence of her wearing a similar outfit.

Kristi Noem has really gone full force to make herself look like she's a boots on the ground homeland security secretary. She's frequently seen wearing a bulletproof vest, like in a video she posted to X when she was in New York City, in which the politician asserted that she was busy, "getting the dirt bags off the streets." Notably, Noem apparently did so with her hair beautifully curled and her makeup impeccably applied at 7 a.m. We know that she's at work and she's promoting the goals of her department, but we doubt very much that Noem is the one who's going door to door and putting herself in possible danger. So we're not 100% sure that we fully understand the need for the bulletproof vest.

7 AM in NYC. Getting the dirt bags off the streets. pic.twitter.com/AlDD819K89

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 28, 2025

 And we're not alone either. "Cosplaying like she's in some cheesy reality TV show," one person replied to Noem's post on X. Others had issues with her hair. "Tactical women don't have their hair down during an op," posited one such critic. Then there were those who reckoned that she had an ulterior motive for this particular outfit choice. "We know you are just trying to generate ad material for your 2028 presidential run," one user wrote. Similarly, Noem also co-piloted a Coast Guard plane and wore a life jacket and helmet on a coast guard boat. But it seems like it's all for show, with one X user even declaring, "Some consultant or advisor determined it was a cute way for her to promote the activities."