The Inappropriate Fashion Flex That Will Always Haunt Kristi Noem

Kristi Noem's apparent love for inappropriate outfits has managed to displease both the left and the right for one particular reason. While politicians on both sides have had their fashion missteps, her choices stand out for how shockingly tone-deaf and attention-seeking they often feel. Take Melania Trump and her inappropriate outfits that caused a stir, or Michelle Obama and her inappropriate outfits that we can never forget. By comparison, Noem's outfits spark more outrage because they often seem like an attempt to flex her wealth, paired with behavior that feels wildly unseeming for someone in her position.

One boastful outfit in particular, worn on an official assignment, captured everything wrong with her fashion choices in a single, inappropriate look. On March 27, Noem visited El Salvador's Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT). Known for its lack of basic amenities, severe overcrowding, extreme violence, and filthy conditions, the facility represents a complete lack of basic human dignity.

I toured the CECOT, El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center.

President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW.  

If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison. pic.twitter.com/OItDqNsFxM

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 26, 2025

Under Noem's leadership, the U.S. deported several non-violent, but undocumented, immigrants to this very place. And in that moment, Noem chose to show up wearing a $60,000 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. She paired the luxury watch with a full face of makeup, a salon-quality blowout, hair extensions, and a fitted white shirt. Worse still, she made a video using the prisoners as her backdrop. There's no doubt that cracking down on illegal immigration falls under her job description, but there's something particularly grotesque and inappropriate about touring a facility this brutal while dripping in wealth and vanity. Where, exactly, did the humanity go?

Considering the ridiculously expensive watch and her tasteless video, it's no surprise that Kristi Noem's inappropriate fashion flex rubbed social media users the wrong way. And under the post, commenters were only too eager to let her know. One X user put it this way: "That prison looks like a Nazi concentration camp, with all the prisoners piled on top of each, heads shaved. And then there's you, in your tight t-shirt, perfectly coiffed hair, and makeup. This is really gross." 

Another called out Noem's gold watch, writing, "Wearing what appears to be a $50k gold Rolex Daytona to film a threat of due-process free rendition to a third-world prison is a really special touch, Secretary." And although his valuation was slightly off, more than a thousand people agreed. One commenter even called Noem "utterly reprehensible" and shamed her behavior: "Those are human f******g beings behind you, not f******g props!!!!!! That looks like a concentration camp."

While it's possible that she didn't intend to come off as grotesque, the inappropriateness of her choices isn't exactly surprising when you consider her track record. Kristi Noem began with a plastic surgery transformation, evolved into one of the worst offenders of "Mar-a-Lago face," and now seems fully committed to putting appearance over responsibility. The problem is that people are noticing, and these inappropriate flexes will continue to haunt the Secretary of Homeland Security long after the cameras stop flashing.