Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem dismissed a new South Park episode as “lazy” and “petty” during an appearance on The Glenn Beck Program, arguing that the cartoon singled out her appearance instead of her record. Noem conceded she had not watched the broadcast, which aired Wednesday, but said critics “always target women’s looks when they have no policy argument.”
The episode, titled “Got a Nut,” sends Mr. Mackey into Immigration and Customs Enforcement after losing his school job, staging raids that climax at a Dora the Explorer concert and—even more absurdly—heaven itself.
Noem is drawn as a photo-op-obsessed ICE chief whose face appears frozen by Botox and who fires at every dog in sight. The half-hour also lampoons President Trump and depicts Vice President JD Vance as a pint-size sidekick at Mar-a-Lago.
While Noem bristled at the caricature, the Department of Homeland Security appeared to lean in: its official X account posted a still from the show to advertise a $50,000 ICE signing bonus, thanking the series for “drawing attention” to recruitment.
Former acting ICE director Tom Homan said the timing of the satire was “reckless,” pointing to a reported jump in assaults on agents and warning that negative portrayals feed hostility toward law-enforcement personnel. Vance adopted a lighter tone, quipping on X, “Well, I’ve finally made it” after seeing his animated likeness.
“Got a Nut” logged the highest cable audience of the day, reinforcing South Park’s knack for driving conversation despite a White House statement last month calling the show “irrelevant.” With a third episode already teased, the back-and-forth between the long-running satire and Trump-era officials shows no sign of cooling.
