Mockery abounded Friday after an unusual report revealed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fired a pilot over not moving her blanket — but then needed the pilot's help to fly her home.
The Wall Street Journal described in a bombshell report the chaos and dysfunction inside the Department of Homeland Security. Several sources complained on and off the record about Noem and her top adviser and purported romantic partner Corey Lewandowski, who frequently berate senior staffers, demand polygraph tests for employees they don't trust, and routinely fire employees for dubious reasons. In one incident, Lewandowski fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after Noem’s blanket was left behind on a plane during a maintenance issue, according to sources familiar with the incident.
On social media, people mocked Noem over the blanket incident.
"I am confused…does Noem have a security blanket she travels with??" Former FBI special agent and lawyer Asha Rangappa wrote on Bluesky.
"The details of the Kristi Noem blanket incident are just f------ perfect," Gizmodo reporter Matt Novak wrote on Bluesky.
"The Kristi Noem blanket incident is a bizarre example of how a regime of narcissists is swinging a wrecking ball at Americans' lives in service to their own egos," former Metro editor at the Chicago Tribune Mark Jacob wrote on Bluesky.
"Noem can’t just buy another blanket?" Another user wrote on Bluesky.
"BREAKING: Kristi Noem blanket reveal," Governor Newsom Press Office wrote on X, featuring an image of President Donald Trump and late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"DHS did not fire the officers who shot and killed Americans in cold blood. They did, however, fire an officer who accidentally left Kristi Noem's blanket on a plane," Democrats wrote on X.