Newsom Mocks Noem With Trump-Epstein Blanket After Pilot Firing Over Forgotten Throw

California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken a savage swipe at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following reports she had a Coast Guard pilot sacked for leaving her personal blanket on a plane, sharing a mocked-up image of what he reckons that special throw might look like.

Newsom's press office posted the satirical image on X, showing a blanket draped over an aeroplane seat with a picture of President Donald Trump and convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein superimposed onto it. 'BREAKING: Kristi Noem blanket reveal,' the post read, clearly taking the mickey out of the Homeland Security chief. The jab comes after The Wall Street Journal published a sprawling exposé on Thursday detailing bizarre behaviour from Noem.

Pilot Sacked Then Reinstated Over Blanket Drama

It was also revealed that Noem's alleged lover, senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, fired a US Coast Guard aviator for forgetting to remove her special blanket when she switched planes following a maintenance problem. But here's where it gets properly ridiculous—Lewandowski then had to bring the pilot back because nobody else could actually fly them home.

When the DHS was approached for comment about the blanket incident, a spokesperson dodged the question entirely. Instead, they just said Noem 'made personnel decisions to deliver excellence', which doesn't really explain why someone nearly lost their job over a forgotten throw.

Custom Boeing and Deportation Flights

Investigations also uncovered that Noem's been flying around in a custom Boeing 737 MAX airliner that was supposed to be used for 'high-profile deportations'. DHS personnel who know about the arrangement have apparently been joking amongst themselves that the plane is Noem's 'big, beautiful jet'.

The department is currently leasing the aircraft but plans to purchase it for around £56 million ($75.9 million). A DHS spokesperson tried to justify the expensive plane by saying it's used for both deportations and Cabinet-level travel, claiming it works out cheaper than using military aircraft. Though whether taxpayers will buy that explanation when the secretary's apparently got her own special blanket on board is another matter entirely.

Newsom's Jab Amid Trump-Epstein Scrutiny

Newsom's decision to use the Trump-Epstein image for his blanket mockup wasn't random. The timing comes as the president faces intense scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein, the convicted paedophile who died in 2019. Congress ordered the release of FBI files from their investigation into Epstein late last year, and the Justice Department has been slowly releasing millions of documents, though the process has been described as delayed and sloppy.

Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing and isn't accused of anything criminal, but the connection to Epstein continues to dog his administration. By putting that particular image on the fake blanket, Newsom's clearly trying to link Noem's bizarre behaviour to the broader controversies swirling around the Trump administration.

The California governor has positioned himself as one of Trump's most vocal critics, regularly taking shots at the administration's policies and personnel. By drawing attention to the blanket story through satire, he's highlighting behaviour that might otherwise get lost in the constant churn of political news. The image of a DHS secretary so attached to a personal blanket that she'd have someone fired over it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in her leadership.