Kristi Noem faces social media backlash for portrait post amid Texas flood tragedy: ‘Who cares??'

Mint

10-07-2025

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem drew fierce criticism online after she asked her Instagram followers to help choose a Western-themed portrait of herself to be displayed in the South Dakota State Capitol — just as devastating floods in Texas were claiming lives.
'Which one do you like for the official Governor's portrait to hang in the South Dakota State Capitol? Thank you David Uhl!' Noem asked in a Monday post, sharing three paintings of herself on horseback by artist David Uhl.
But the timing of the post — during a national disaster response that many say she delayed — sparked immediate and intense backlash.
'You really posting portraits... while little girls died?'
Critics accused Noem of vanity and negligence as floodwaters surged in Texas, killing nearly 120 people and leaving over 160 missing.
'Maybe the one with the flood, and you doing nothing about it, and maybe a kid floating by?' one Instagram user wrote.
'You really posting portraits of yourself on the day Texas flooded and little girls died!!!' another added.
Others mocked the tone-deaf nature of the post given Noem's role overseeing FEMA: 'You got one with 80 drowned dead camp girls Miss HOMELAND SECURITY?' 'Who cares?? There are more pressing things to think about!'
Beyond political criticism, Noem's Instagram followers took aim at the portraits themselves, calling them inauthentic or overly staged.
'All 3 are you pretending to be something you're not,' one user commented. Another scoffed: 'None of them even look like you. Omg.'
The criticism is rooted in reporting by CNN, which revealed that a rule enacted by Kristi Noem now requires her personal approval for any FEMA contract or grant over $100,000. FEMA officials said this policy delayed the deployment of search and rescue teams by over 72 hours — a critical window that may have cost lives.
Internal FEMA data reviewed by CNN showed only 86 FEMA staffers had been deployed by Monday night — far below the norm for a disaster of this magnitude. The death toll has climbed to nearly 120, with more than 160 still missing.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the response, telling CNN that other DHS assets were used initially and that Noem's approvals were granted when needed. Noem and President Trump have both pushed for states to take primary responsibility in disasters, with Noem calling on Wednesday for FEMA to be dismantled and remade.
Texas, which has one of the most robust state-level emergency systems, managed the early hours of the disaster largely on its own, deploying more than 2,100 personnel from 20 state agencies, Governor Greg Abbott's office said.