Administration Watch video from Noem’s controversial $220M ad campaign by Ryan Mancini - 03/05/26 4:25 PM ET by Ryan Mancini - 03/05/26 4:25 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING President Trump on Thursday fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and announced he will replace her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), hours after the president reportedly said he did not approve a scrutinized $220 million ad campaign pushed by the secretary. The ad features Noem, donning a cowboy hat on horseback, moving out of a wooded clearing in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the state where she was formerly the governor. The secretary asks, “Why do I love these wide open spaces?” “They remind me of why our forefathers came here,” she continues. “Not just for its beauty, but for the freedom only America provides.” At this point, the camera faces Noem with Mount Rushmore in the background. The ad then features a montage of American iconography from the Wright brothers’ first flight to herds of buffalo, followed by images of the first assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pa., in 2024 before footage of his second inauguration. She notes that the administration defends the U.S. “vigorously” as scenes of border fencing is seen under construction and Trump is seen shaking hands with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The montage proceeds to show Homeland Security Department agents and federal officers, cut together with shots of Trump walking as officers salute him. “You cross the border illegally, we’ll find you,” Noem continues. “Break our laws, we’ll punish you. Harm American citizens, there will be consequences. But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these endless skies. From President Trump and me, welcome home.” Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Thursday, hours before he announced her replacement, that he “never knew anything about” the ad campaign. The president later announced Mullin would replace her while Noem will serve as the special envoy for “ The Shield of the Americas ,” a new initiative geared toward security in the Western Hemisphere. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) pressed Noem about the ad on Tuesday. She said the president approved the ad campaign, with Kennedy suggesting the video promoted Noem instead of the president. She said it was properly approved. “The president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries where we were seeing the invasion come from,” Noem said, “with putting commercials out that told them that if they were in this country illegally, that they needed to leave, or we would detain them and remove them, and they’d not get the chance to come back to America the right way. That has been extremely effective.” Add as preferred source on Google Tags Donald Trump John Kennedy Kristi Noem Markwayne Mullin Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Administration News See All Senate Tillis praises Mullin as Noem’s successor, says he’ll ‘restore competence’ to DHS by Tara Suter 14 minutes ago Senate  /  14 minutes ago