Kristi Noem Is Nearly Unrecognizable In Tasteless Governor's Portrait Post

If there's one thing Kristi Noem is obsessed with, it's herself. In an Instagram carousel, Donald Trump's controversial Homeland Security Secretary shared three separate paintings of herself riding a horse. The former governor of South Dakota asked her followers which portrait they liked the best, since one of the pieces will ultimately be displayed in the South Dakota State Capitol. The glaring problem with these paintings, by artist David Uhl, is that they don't look anything like Noem. Thankfully, they're not Nicki Minaj wax figure level bad, but it's clear that Uhl embraced the Trump staffer's love of face-tuning. Besides Noem looking unrecognizable in old photos, the mother of three also deals with rampant plastic surgery rumors — especially thanks to side-by-side photo comparisons of the homeland security secretary.

Many commenters loved the portraits, with several people eagerly weighing in on which one they liked the best. "[Painting] 2 captures your pursuit of making America safe again," one such fan wrote. Another said, "I like [painting] 3 as it exemplifies the powerful and yet contemplative manner of governor. It is as if you're looking to the future with determination and purpose befitting the great state of South Dakota." While Noem got plenty of positive responses on Instagram, over on X, formerly known as Twitter, people had very different feelings about both the portraits and their timing.

While Kristi Noem gushed over her three portrait options, families in Texas went through hell with the catastrophic floods happening across multiple counties. More than 80 people have been confirmed dead at the time of writing, many of them children and counselors from Camp Mystic. Unfortunately, there are many people still missing too. While part of the country is in crisis mode, maybe hold off on swooning over yourself. As one X user pointed out, "Focusing on portraits instead of aid," while another snarked, "Nothing says 'leadership' like shopping for headshots while kids are missing on your watch."

To be fair, Noem did share a screenshot of President Donald Trump's Truth Social post about signing a major disaster declaration for Texas' Kerr County to both her Instagram and X accounts before uploading the portrait carousel. However, she hasn't posted anything about how to help the victims or provided any links to aid. "We are currently deploying federal emergency management resources to Texas first responders, and will work closely with state and local authorities to ensure the people of Texas get the support they need as search efforts continue and recovery begins," she wrote simply.

While that's all well and good, quickly shifting to a "Which picture of ME looks the best?" post on social media is tacky and tasteless. Wait until the natural disaster is over and everyone missing is accounted for before asking your constituents to gush over you.