This article includes discussion of animal abuse.

Word on the street is that Kristi Noem was originally floated as a potential vice presidential pick when Donald Trump initially made his third bid for the White House. But then she released her book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” and found herself embroiled in controversy that was arguably more than even the likes of Trump could handle, so Noem ended up getting tapped for the position of Secretary of Homeland Security instead. 

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In her book, Noem revealed that she killed her dog, Cricket, and an unnamed goat on the same day, confessing, “I hated that dog,” and reasoning that the poor animal was simply untrainable. The dog was just 14 months old when Noem put her down. Cricket was a hunting dog, and when she, well, hunted, and didn’t immediately respond to training, her owner decided she’d had enough. The goat, on the other hand, had to go because, as the controversial Republican put it, the animal “loved to chase” Noem’s three kids. Naturally, these admissions had animal lovers and activists up in arms, and for good reason. But this is hardly where the controversy ends with Noem. 

For someone who had no patience for her hunting dog, the politician displayed remarkable restraint upon being forced to spend 40 minutes awkwardly dancing on stage at a Trump rally after two people in the audience suffered medical emergencies. Noem found herself smack in the middle of yet another controversy when she wore a $50,000 Rolex watch while visiting a mega prison in El Salvador in March 2025. “It looks like you’re just flaunting your wealth while you flaunt your freedom,” Adam Isacson, the Director for Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, proclaimed to The Washington Post at the time. 

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Much like many of President Donald Trump’s biggest controversies can be blamed on his lack of tact, Kristi Noem also has her own candor to blame for the fact that she somehow got herself banned from the Tribal Lands in her home state of South Dakota. During a town hall meeting in 2024, the outspoken politician asserted that kids growing up in Native tribes “don’t have any hope, they don’t have parents who show up and help them,” (via the South Dakota Searchlight). Noem also accused the South Dakota Tribes of being in bed with drug cartels during another speech at the state legislature, without presenting any evidence.

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Naturally, these offensive comments didn’t sit well with Tribal leaders, and the future U.S. homeland security secretary was subsequently banned from stepping foot on all nine reservations in her home state. Clyde Estes, chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe was dismayed by Noem’s comments and he fully supported the ban, acknowledging that many Tribal leaders had hoped that Noem would issue an apology, which sadly never came. “We’re going to stand up to defend our people,” Estes told The Guardian, adding that Noem “would be charged with trespassing” if she entered any of the South Dakota reservations.

Kristi Noem has weathered some painfully awkward moments in her political career thus far, one of which occurred when Noem disclosed in her book that she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. This little tidbit made the rounds after an early excerpt was released. It read, “I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants. I’ve been a children’s pastor after all,” (via CBS News). The part where Noem, a mother of three, described children as “little tyrants” would likely have made headlines in its own right had it not been mentioned in the same sentence as her supposed meeting with Kim.

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When questioned, the future Trump staffer tied herself up in knots trying to explain it away, claiming that the passage was being taken out of the book ahead of its release (she didn’t say why). Asked point blank if she’d ever met with Kim, Noem wriggled out of giving a straight answer. When asked the same question again, she replied, “No, I’ve met with many, many world leaders […] I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I’m just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book.”

“No Going Back” also includes another anecdote about the politician supposedly declining a meeting with the then-French president, Emmanuel Macron, because of a comment he made about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which Noem dubbed “a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment,” per NBC News. French government officials publicly fact-checked the statement, clarifying that no such meeting was ever set to take place.

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Before Kristi Noem became Donald Trump’s controversial new U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, she found herself in a bit of a pinch in her home state of South Dakota for using taxpayer money to fund her jet-setting lifestyle. Shortly after landing her plushy new government job, word got out that Noem had spent a whopping $150,000 on travel alone (this number included funding for her ever-present security detail). These lofty expenses were also found to have nothing to do with Noem’s responsibilities as the then-governor of South Dakota. In fact, the bill was predominantly comprised of her various jaunts around the country in support of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential re-election campaign as well as personal traveling expenses. And taxpayers footed the bill. 

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It got even worse when tallying up the numbers over Noem’s six-year tenure as governor, during which time she amassed an eye-watering $640,000 in travel expenses. Back in 2022, the politician had a close shave with the law when questions were raised about her use of the state airplane. Noem was investigated but ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. “This was nothing but a political attack in retaliation from a disgraced attorney general,” her spokesperson, Ian Fury, spat in a statement (via AP News), referring to former Republican Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who certainly had a bone to pick with Noem, given that she had a hand in him getting fired. It’s also possible Ravnsborg knew something the rest of us didn’t, given the 2025 revelation about Noem’s travel expenses.

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The list of people in Trumpland who have been accused of having affairs is a lengthy one, and unsurprisingly his new homeland security secretary is on it. Rumors about Kristi Noem’s relationship with former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski were running rampant as early as 2021, but they made a major comeback in 2023 when a source dished to the New York Post that the two had been blatantly engaging in an affair for years. They even saw Noem and Lewandowski getting very cozy in a bar and, moreover, they didn’t appear to mind being spotted. “I remember it was so absurdly blatant and public,” the insider professed of the “handsy” outing, continuing, “It wasn’t like 2 a.m., it isn’t like we caught them at some dive bar miles away. It’s a lobby bar where everyone is staying and so there’s a bajillion political operatives and journalists and electeds around.” 

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This wasn’t the first such incident either. Apparently, they also packed on the PDA at a 2020 Mar-a-Lago event, in full view of the other attendees (eyewitnesses corroborated this account). When the Daily Mail reached out to Noem and Lewandowski for comment, neither party refuted the claims that they were having an affair. Of course, they didn’t confirm either. Ian Fury, Noem’s spokesperson, had the good sense to contact the outlet after it published an article about their tryst to deny the claims. It’s worth noting that the Republican politician previously took to her professional governor account on X, formerly known as Twitter, to rage against the rumors, writing in a since-deleted tweet, “These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie” (via Siouxland Proud). And, as of this writing, both Noem and Lewandowski remain married to their respective spouses.

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Kristi Noem underwent a drastic MAGA makeover as she readied herself to become a member of President Donald Trump’s inner circle. The former governor’s altered appearance even fueled internet scuttlebutt that she had undergone plastic surgery. One procedure Noem definitely did get done, and wasn’t shy to talk about, was some cosmetic dental work. In fact, she got into trouble for promoting the dentist who did the procedure, posting a 5-minute clip to X gushing about how happy she was with the results. “I love my new family at Smile Texas! The video says it all, and I am so grateful for their help fixing my smile for me,” Noem captioned the post.

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Consumer advocacy group Travelers United filed a lawsuit in response, complaining that Noem was “advertis[ing] a product or service without disclosing that she has a financial relationship with that company,” (via The Guardian). They also criticized the Republican politician for appearing to have started a side hustle as a social media influencer. Noem reportedly didn’t take too kindly to being reprimanded for promoting her dentist, with Travelers United documenting how she reacted once the case went to court.

According to Politico, one of the group’s lawyers noted in a court filing that she “felt legitimately threatened” by the former South Dakota governor, especially after reading about Noem’s remorseless killing of her own dog. The conservative politician, meanwhile, took to X to brag that the case against her had been dismissed, calling it a “baseless lawsuit” and accusing the group of acting as “a fake watchdog group filing frivolous claims to smear me.” Noem also posited that she wasn’t paid to do the dental advertisements.

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