Overview

• The planning forecast, released this week, designates $20 million to $50 million under an “International Campaign Follow-on” line for ads starring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
• The White House is preparing a separate multimillion-dollar public relations effort to shore up Noem’s image after she was roasted on an episode of South Park.
• South Park’s parody showed Noem conducting ICE raids in heaven, arresting Dora the Explorer, fretting over her appearance and referencing a dog-killing anecdote from her memoir.
• Internal DHS and ICE officials have criticized Noem’s media-driven approach for undermining enforcement operations, missing deportation targets and raising due-process concerns.
• Noem, who has faced scrutiny over past taxpayer-funded travel and tactical uniform photo-ops, defended herself on Glenn Beck’s show as a target of lazy, sexist satire.