Kristi Noem's Strange History Of Inappropriate 'Cosplay' Outfits

Kristi Noem was appointed the Secretary of Homeland Security when Donald Trump took office in 2025, and she's taken the role entirely too literally. In the months she's worked for the president, she's become the face of several memes as she's dressed up to play the part of various security personnel. One could say she's been wearing many hats, figuratively and literally.

All jokes aside, Noem has been under immense scrutiny for her various costumes. That's partly because she refuses to part from her hair extensions and full glam underneath, earning her the nickname "ICE Barbie," but mostly because she's making heinous actions appear satirical. In May 2025, during a hearing before the Committee of Homeland Security, Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner outlined the impact of Noem's actions. "You have been sloppy; your department has been sloppy. And instead of focusing on real criminals, you have allowed innocent children to be deported while you fly around the country playing dress-up for the cameras," Magaziner stated, per The New Republic.

Unsurprisingly, 2025 wasn't the first time Noem dusted off her old Halloween costumes. Back in the day, as the governor of South Dakota, she would dress up in various costumes for campaign ads. Based on the criticism she's received for her ridiculous ensembles, it might be best if she saves the costumes for Halloween.

Back in 2023, when she was serving as governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem appeared in a series of ads for the state's $6.5 million "Freedom Works Here" campaign, highlighting the industries that required skilled workers in the state. She dressed up for nearly every occupation under the sun: dentist, plumber, welder, electrician, accountant, nurse; you name it, she's got a poorly made hat for it. With that steep a budget, you'd think they'd opt for something classier than a costume you'd find for sale on November 1. In one commercial, she said, "I've even been lending a hand, and I wasn't very good at it." You'd think she'd get the hint to not be as hands-on with her approach.

This was the beginning of people suspecting Noem enjoyed playing dress-up, and they made a meal out of it. Later in April 2025, Jimmy Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that "she dresses up as all the Village People." The campaign continued to pump out ads with Noem as the star year after year, and she eventually raised the budget for the ads to $9 million in April 2024. All that money, and she couldn't even give us a bedazzled ensemble?

The writers for the "Freedom Works Here" ads seemed to have a set blueprint (and script, essentially) for every ad they ran with Kristi Noem. For the later ones that came out in 2024, she specifically called for law enforcement and home construction workers to join the workforce in their state.

No wonder Noem has dressed up as law enforcement so many times; it's her favorite pastime. For the highway patrol ad, titled "33 in a 65," Noem donned an all-brown uniform with all the works: a walkie-talkie, holster, a police jacket, even a forest ranger's wide-brimmed khaki hat. She was trying to give police officer, but all we got was Smokey the Bear.

Meanwhile, for the construction ad, Noem put in the works: bootcut jeans, a flannel, a bomber jacket, a tool belt, and, you guessed it, a construction hat (have we mentioned that Noem has had a full face of makeup, including lashes, and her extensions in for all of these commercials?). Again, unintentionally turning her stupidity as a government employee into a bit, Noem knocks over a piece of wood towards the end of the ad, which results in the ceiling caving in. Way to make the people trust you!

Kristi Noem's first costume under Donald Trump's presidency came during an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on "The Ingraham Angle" in January 2025. For the segment discussing mass deportations, Noem wore an army-green Border Patrol bomber jacket with a matching baseball cap, complete with pearl-drop earrings, curled hair pulled into a side ponytail, and a full face of makeup. This cosplay was only a taste of what was to come for Noem.

The conversation got rather heated, as Noem danced around one of Ingraham's questions regarding whether she "will go after" city officials who refuse to comply with the ICE raids. Finally, Ingraham cracked. "But will you go after them personally? I'm going to ask for the third time." She continued, "I'm asking a question because I expect an answer. Will you go after these individual mayors who are saying essentially they are going to thwart federal authority?" Noem responded, "Listen, Laura: Nobody is above the law. Of course we will,'" before adding that they are under the direction of Donald Trump. Ingraham shared the clip on Instagram, to which many found Noem's outfit to be off-putting; one user wrote, "Noem needs to tone down the 'uniform', looks desperate."

Kristi Noem made a repeat offense from her cosplay closet with her Cowboy Kristi look, typically centered around her wearing a huge cowboy hat. Shocking. She should've taken a note from our book and peeked at our tips for styling a wide-brimmed felt hat. In February 2025, Noem made her first visit to the border between the U.S. and Mexico as the secretary of Homeland Security, but based on her outfit, you'd think she'd been doing it much longer.

The day before her trip south, she paid a visit to NBC News and teased her ensemble for the following day. For her interview with Kristen Welker, Noem opted for a beige Henley shirt and the most dramatic cowboy hat of all time, definitely giving "Western Barbie," but far from the rare Barbie dolls with impeccable style. Under Noem's X post clipping the segment, many read between the lines of her rodeo uniform. One user expressed, "Seriously Madam Secretary, the costumes are really getting ridiculous. This is a grown up job and should be treated seriously." Another commented, "Why doesn't she take the [expletive] cowboy hat off — she looks ridiculous."

Noem decided on a pair of bootcut jeans, a hefty belt buckle, a border patrol jacket, and the same hat to patrol the border. With her hair perfectly curled, lashes, smokey eyes, and the horse they gave her to ride, you'd think she was filming "Yellowstone."

Every nickname had to come from somewhere, and Kristi Noem earned "ICE Barbie" in April 2025 with her most iconic look yet. She took to X with a video announcing that she would be joining the members of ICE to arrest someone whom she suspected of having sex-trafficking charges.

For the photo-op, she was decked out in full tactical gear and glam, of course. With all the makeup she wears, it's fairly obvious how Noem's face has changed with plastic surgery over the years. Cargo pants, a bulletproof vest, and a Homeland Security baseball hat made up the ensemble, and sitting in her perfectly manicured acrylic set was a rifle, pointed directly at the man standing next to her. Many sounded off in response to the video, calling her out for improperly handling a gun and wearing the vest incorrectly. One wrote, "As a MAGA loyalist.... Please stop with the props for your videos.... You're not pulling it off." Another added, "I'm over it. How much time and money is spent on these self-promoting photo and video ops?'"

Noem caught wind of the backlash, and during an interview with Jesse Watters at Fox News in April 2025, she made it clear there was no sign of stopping. "Every day I wake up, and there are new criticisms. It's something different every single day, so I try not to pay attention to the noise," she said (via The Daily Beast). "Obviously, I'm guided by the folks that I work with every day to be appropriate for the situation that I'm in and to take the same precautions they do." That must apply to all except the number-one rule of gun safety, of course.