Airports Fight Back Kristi Noem by Refusing to Play her MAGA Message

Some good news for today, because you and I both know that we need it!

Kristi Noem recently filmed a video blaming Democrats for the shutdown, and she sent it to airports for them to air it on their screens as people pass through TSA. Well, more than half a dozen airports are now refusing to play her hyper MAGA message because of its “partisan tone”.

VIA CNN

In the video, Homeland Security Secretary Noem blames Democrats for the federal shutdown, accuses them of refusing to fund the government, and then proceeds to suggest that TSA operations have been “impacted” and that many TSA staff are working without pay. You can see the video HERE.

Noem says, “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”

Here’s a list of the airports not playing the video:

• Buffalo (New York)

• Charlotte (North Carolina)

• Cleveland (Ohio)

• Los Angeles (California)

• Phoenix (Arizona)

• Seattle (Washington)

• Las Vegas (Nevada)

• Portland (Oregon)

The Hatch Act of 1939 limits the political activities of federal employees to “ensure government programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.” Unfortunately, the Trump administration doesn’t seem to care.

Portland Airport spokesperson Molly Prescott told The Daily Beast that “We did not consent to playing the video in its current form, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging.”

A Port of Seattle spokesperson told CNN, “We continue to urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown and are working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay at SEA during the shutdown.”

The fact that the Trump administration and Noem felt so comfortable sending out this very right-leaning message should be alarming. Government messages in public spaces, like an airport, should be bipartisan and informational. There is genuinely nothing that separates us from the path of a dictatorship if we are now okay with state-sanctioned videos like these. I wouldn’t like it if the Democrats did it either. There’s a time and place for it, the airport is not it.

It gives me hope that airports are fighting back by not airing the video, especially during times when people are losing their jobs just for expressing their opinions.

In short, while today’s political climate often appears discouraging and daunting, it is encouraging to see institutions like our airports push back against openly partisan messages in public spaces.

The ban on playing Kristi Noem’s video says a lot: government buildings should be for everyone, not used as political messaging platforms. Apart from party politics, we need to uphold the principle that public money is not spent on political ends.

In these times of polarizing division, it is uplifting to see a few instances of integrity, reminders that there are still people who will act on the principles of neutrality, fairness, and duty with public trust.