‘ICE Barbie’ U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been playing dress up again, this time masquerading as a U.S. Coast Guard pilot.
Noem, who has become renowned for her dynamic wardrobe, took to X Monday to reveal she co-piloted a Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
A clip shows her in the cockpit of the four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft flying out of one of the farthest flung Coast Guard bases in the country. She wore blue jeans, a wool hat and—of course—a leather aviator jacket.
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“Got the chance to fly a C-130 out of our U.S. Coast Guard base in Kodiak, Alaska,” she wrote. “Air Station Kodiak is essential to our mission success for reconnaissance and search & rescue in Alaska and the Arctic.”
People were quick to question whether the former South Dakota governor is a qualified pilot. The Daily Beast has asked the Department of Homeland Security to confirm whether this is the case.
“Ummm. Ma’am. All due respect but, have you flown an airplane before? I’m cool with either way just curious,” wrote one person in response to Noem’s video. “Does she have a pilot’s license?” asked another.
Many were also quick to point out that Noem knows how to seize a photo opportunity. “Oh look Barbie pretending to fly a plane. What will you dress up tomorrow as?” wrote one critic.
Noem also participated in a ship assault demonstration on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elm with the Maritime Security Response Team on Sunday, in San Diego, California. There, she again donned the uniform—and got her hands on a carbine rifle.
The trip to Alaska, the largest state by area in the U.S., is part of Noem’s tour of the extremities of the country. She tackled the southern border, going horseback riding with officials in Texas and earning herself the moniker “Cosplay Kristi” because of her getup, which was capped off by a massive cowboy hat.
That was in January, as was her foray to the northern border in Vermont. There, she insulted Canadians by hopping over the borderline and calling Canada “The 51st state,” a jibe continually used by President Donald Trump towards our northern neighbor.
But Noem is best-known for her ‘ICE Barbie’ nickname, bestowed on her after she got dolled up and tagged along on raids with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The 53-year-old earned the tag in January, when she joined the first major deportation raids in New York City since Trump assumed office for a second time. She reprised her role earlier this month when she joined ICE for raids in Virginia.
