Kristi Noem Was Criticized for Her Choice of Expensive Accessories at El Salvador Prison

After Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem flew to CECOT, the official Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, and shared a video of herself in front of a large cell, she immediately drew criticism from those who already scrutinize Republican decisions in the White House. In the video, which she posted on X (formerly Twitter), the former South Dakota governor is seen standing and speaking in front of a crowded cell that features dozens of men who were deported from the United States.

In the video, Noem explains that "this is one of the consequences you could face" if you move to the U.S. illegally. However, what she says isn't what most people took away from the video. Instead, many immediately criticized what they saw, with Noem in a pristine white shirt and expensive jewelry juxtaposed against a background of shirtless men in tattoos and with shaved heads.

After Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act, more than 250 Venezuelans in the U.S. were flown to CECOT after they were believed to be part of a Venezuelan gang, though it was not proven that all of the men flown to the prison were part of the gang. In the video, Noem stands in front of a large cell where, presumably, those same deported Venezuelan men stand and sit on multi-level bunk beds.

But, what many noticed right away in the video is Noem’s watch, which, according to The Washington Post, is a $50,000 Rolex. A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security spoke to USA Today and explained that Noem’s watch was something she purchased herself before she took office as the secretary of Homeland Security.

"Governor Noem chose to use the proceeds from her New York Times best-selling books to purchase an item she could wear and one day pass down to her children," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the outlet.

Noem has written three books about her life before and during politics — By God and Granite: Mount Rushmore, Our Founders, and the Defense of American Greatness; Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland; and No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.

Prior to the $50,000 Rolex fiasco that left some of Noem and Trump’s critics at a loss for words or with an abundance of choice words for the former governor, Noem faced criticism for other actions. In 2024, she was reamed online for admitting to shooting her own dog.

In her 2024 book No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem admitted to shooting a hunting dog that she was unable to tame. She explained that she did the same thing with a goat on her farm.

"It was not a pleasant job," Noem wrote about shooting her dog, per The Guardian. "But it had to be done."