October 13, 2025 02:28 PM UTC

Airports Thumbs-Down Kristi Noem Blame Game Video

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the ongoing shutdown of the federal government’s effects are felt across the economy, the Trump administration has responded in part by directing normally non-political government agencies to name and blame Democrats as political retribution that they hope the public will echo–which hasn’t happened so far, with the public overwhelmingly blaming Republicans for the shutdown, and supporting Democratic demands for health care funds to prevent huge insurance premium increases next year.

But as Westword’s Thomas Mitchell reports, airports across Colorado and the nation are refusing to play a recorded message from Department of Homeland Security Kristi “Puppy Killer” Noem laying the same partisan blame for increasing flight delays:

Airports in Seattle and Portland both declined to play the video, and Denver’s won’t be showing it, either — but not because it’s refusing to do so. According to DIA, the monitors used to display security wait times and other TSA information at checkpoints don’t have audio capabilities, so they can’t run Noem’s video in any case. Neither the DHS nor any other part of the Trump administration had directly requested that the videos be played, an airport official adds.

Have they not heard of closed captioning at DIA? But even without that excuse, other airports have a content-based objection that we assume can be found somewhere in DIA’s policies as well:

According to the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, the new DHS video will not be played at security checkpoints because “it is in violation of airport advertising policy.” [Pols emphasis] Aspen is not playing it, either.

We should all agree that the airport security is torture enough without being forced to watch political ads. That’s a policy worth sticking with no matter who is President.