By Jason Collins

How Ambition and Missteps Undermined a Rising Political Star

From being raised on a ranch to being crowned South Dakota Snow Queen and eventually becoming a once-prominent Republican governor with national ambitions, Kristi Noem’s rise to fame is a cautionary tale of how ambition and political miscalculations can undermine a rising star. She served as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump but was given the boot from her current role and assigned to a specially-made, invented, ceremonial position. Disgraced, exiled to the wilderness, even worse, a punch line.

The series of controversies, personal relationships, and political miscalculations that led to the crumbling of her credibility and to her political career hanging by a thread are worth examining not as tabloid gossip but rather as a tale as old as time itself – the Icarus myth and how Hubris brings those whose ambitions outweigh their talents down.

The Making of a Conservative Celebrity

Looking back at her perfect record in campaigns, it was clear that Noem’s political career would rise, and it did for some time. She was elected twice to represent Hamlin County in the South Dakota Legislature and was the first-ever female governor of South Dakota. What made her so popular amongst Republican voters was her confidence in leadership and political instincts. She then served in Congress until 2019, but it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that she garnered national spotlight as she successfully led her state through it with a brash confidence in herself and South Dakotans. 

In 2025, Noem was appointed by Trump as Homeland Security Secretary, and during her short-lived tenure, she governed with what critics described as an “aggressive” style. But this was nothing new. Throughout her rise, Noem had never been one to shy away from speaking her mind. Her views aligned closely with Trump’s, especially when it came to the issue of illegal immigration.

But while she may have perfectly positioned herself for national attention, that attention has instead done the opposite, not catapulting her career further.  

The Rise of Controversies 

It seems wherever Noem goes, controversy follows, and there’s no one else to blame but her. Back in 2010, during her re-election campaign, news outlets reported that Noem had 20 speeding tickets, 3 stop-sign violations, 2 seat-belt violations, and a citation for driving without a driver’s license. On top of that, she had also been issued six court notices for failure to appear and two arrest warrants. These were the warning signs, a prelude to what lies beneath the polished Fox News-friendly face.

In 2024, attention on her ramped up following the release of her 2024 memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward. The book featured a recount of her fatally shooting her 14-month-old Wirehair Pointer on her family farm because the dog was “untrainable.” She also revealed she killed a goat, and more bizarrely, she included a false anecdote about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. What was meant to strengthen her leadership image had quickly become a reputational crisis.  

What drew even more criticism was her penchant for luxury shopping, particularly her use of border funds to purchase a fleet of luxury aircraft. According to reports, the department spent more than $300 million on three private jets. In March 2025, Noem was slammed by critics for being out of touch when she wore a $60,000 Rolex watch to tour a run-down El Salvadoran prison where Venezuelan migrants had been deported. She then took an infamous photo posing in front of these inmates that spread across social media, causing a political firestorm for the Trump Administration.  

She got up Trump’s nose after her $220 million ad campaign that featured her on a horse wearing a cowboy hat. To this day, Trump claims he did not sign off on that campaign. And the controversies still did not end there.

More recently, during ICE operations carried out in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were killed, Noem made disgraceful comments that sparked a national outcry. Noem accused Renee Good and Alex Pretti of committing “acts of domestic terrorism.” Within hours of Good’s death, where she was fatally shot by a federal agent, Noem claimed that Good attempted to ram her vehicle into agents. This came before any federal investigation, and eyewitness reports, as well as video footage, contradict Noem’s statements. 

Weeks later, Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents as the controversy intensified. Noem’s tendency to make sweeping statements without relying on facts or even allowing an investigative process to unfold painted her as a target the media couldn’t miss. And it didn’t.    

Political Ambitions Collide with Public Perception

While many other Republican leaders have had their fair share of controversies, the accumulation of Noem’s and the national attention would all become too much for others and Trump to ignore. What didn’t help her case was the recent allegations of Noem’s personal relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a close aide and adviser to Noem. Rumors of the two have been circulating for years, but with Noem in the spotlight, they were unavoidable. During congressional hearings, Noem was pressured on whether Lewandowski had influenced or had access to sensitive discussions. When asked about the nature of their relationship, Noem refused to answer. On TV, she appeared defensive and evasive, which undermined her credibility, and Trump took notice of this problematic spectacle. 

In the wake of the hearings, Trump fired Noem and shared that she would take over a new role called “Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” where she will handle issues of drug trafficking alongside Latin American leaders.

Trump did praise Noem for her time in office, but an administration official told NBC News that she was fired because of a 

…culmination of her many unfortunate leadership failures, including the fallout in Minnesota, the ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity, the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies, including CBP and ICE.

They added, “Kristi’s drama sadly overshadowed and distracted from the Administration’s extremely popular immigration agenda, which will continue full force.”

During the recent Senate and House hearings, Noem refused to apologize for her comments about Good and Pretti. 

A Cautionary Tale of Political Branding 

In just a few short years, Noem went from being one of the most talked-about rising political stars to a figure of a modern-day classical Greek tragedy. In Greek mythology, Icarus flew too close to the sun, and his wings melted. Noem, a carefully curated figure of cowboy hats, campaign videos, and television appearances, flew too close to the sun. But unlike Icarus, who had wings of feathers and wax, Noem’s were political marketing and branding. 

While different, their stories are the same. Ambition may have carried her to new heights, but the combination of controversy, spectacle, and miscalculation ultimately proved unsustainable.   

Will Noem rebuild and re-enter national politics? Political experts think not, and in a world where public perception matters, she might find it hard for people to look past puppy killing and orchestrated prison influencer photos.