President Donald Trump‘s new Homeland Safety Secretary, Kristi Noem, grabbed viewers’ consideration on Sunday morning’s (February 2) episode of NBC’s Meet the Press when she appeared glammed up and sporting a cowboy hat.
Talking with host Kristen Welker on the present, Noem tried to reply questions concerning the current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) focused immigration raids, together with Trump’s proposal to detain migrants at Guantanamo Bay.
Nevertheless, many viewers have been much less curious about Noem’s evasive solutions and extra taken by her outfit selection, which included a big cowboy hat and khaki button-up prime. This got here after per week of head-turning outfits that earned Noem the nickname “Cosplay Kristi.”
Final week, Noem, who leads the federal division tasked with making certain public security within the U.S., joined ICE brokers through the deportation raids, the place she was seen in full make-up, curled hair, a bulletproof vest, and an ICE-branded baseball cap. She modified the search for on Fox Information when she appeared sporting a special border patrol outfit, with viewers dubbing her, “ICE Barbie.”
“Kristi Noem appears to assume that serving as a Cupboard secretary is akin to attending a Halloween occasion,” wrote one X consumer. “These costumes are simply getting ridiculous.”
“I can’t even with Kristi Noem cosplaying on TV each day. So cringe,” mentioned one other.
“Kristi Noem might attempt & costume extra professionally. The total make-up & sparkly dangle earrings simply scream unserious,” one other added.
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“She’s like Barbie,” wrote one other.””Totally different motion outfit for each day of the week.”
One other quipped, “Positively want that hat indoors whereas doing a TV hit. Retains the solar out of your eyes.”
“Acquired Meet The Press on (I do know _ why?) however how can anybody take Kristi Noem critically with that cowboy hat on?” mentioned one viewer.
“Kristi noem and her cosplay outfits are utterly ridiculous. The hair, Botox, pretend eyelashes and cowboy hat don’t make her efficient,” wrote one other. “This entire administration is a pretend actuality television present.”
Noem, who beforehand served because the thirty third governor of South Dakota from 2019 to 2025, stored the cowboy hat look going after her Meet the Press interview when she traveled on horseback alongside border patrol officers in Del Rio, Texas.
I’m on the southern border immediately to see firsthand what’s occurring and the way we are able to greatest help our border patrol brokers. Beneath President @realDonaldTrump, the times of open borders are over. pic.twitter.com/j6b2e7Ov9e
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 3, 2025
Regardless of the criticism from some circles, others have defended Noem’s outfits, with one X consumer writing, “These attacking @KristiNoem for sporting a cowboy hat haven’t been being attentive to her over time. She grew on a ranch. She’s comfy in a cowboy or baseball hat.”
“She grew up on a ranch. It’s not a fancy dress for @SecNoem,” added Fox and Associates co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. “As for the make up & stunning hair, good for her! She leads in a celebration that celebrates magnificence & femininity as a energy. Completely on model. I’m detecting some peanut butter & jealous right here.”
“A girl on a horse with a Cowboy Hat – Kristi Noem with the Border Patrol. That is what’s actual,” mentioned one other.
“Kristi Noem is gorgeous, clever and efficient,” wrote one other.