Late-night host Jimmy Fallon wasted little time joking about the sudden firing of Kristi Noem, the former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, during his opening monologue Thursday night.
The remark came just hours after Donald Trump removed Noem from the cabinet. Fallon’s reaction landed fast — and it drew laughs across late-night television.
“You never know with Trump. He either thinks she’s bad at her job, or he wants her to be the new supreme leader of Iran,” Fallon told viewers on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
He also joked about what Noem might have said after she was removed. “If my face could move, it would look really sad right now.”
The joke referred to Noem’s stiff public image, a topic that has circulated in political commentary for months. The audience roared. The clip began spreading online within minutes.
President Trump fired the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. In response, Noem said, “If my face could move, it would look really sad right now.” #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/NASCXGUeXQ
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) March 6, 2026
Fallon also questioned the new role Trump announced for Noem. After removing her as homeland security secretary, the president said she would become a “special envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” a security initiative he plans to unveil in Florida. Fallon leaned into the uncertainty around the position.
“That sounds made up. Even the FIFA Peace Prize was… that sounds made up.” he repeated.
The host also joked about one possible outcome for the former cabinet member. “The funniest thing would be if they deport her to El Salvador,” he said.
The firing itself surprised Washington watchers. Noem had been serving as head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, a powerful agency responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, disaster response, and domestic counter-terrorism.
Noem had been under pressure for weeks. Lawmakers questioned her about a $220 million advertising campaign promoting border enforcement. The ads showed her in different outfits riding horseback and appearing in immigration raids. Some in Congress called the campaign unusually self-promotional.
Trump reportedly became frustrated after Noem suggested he had personally approved the$200 million border security ad campaign. Trump denies knowing anything about it.
The jokes didn’t stop with Fallon. Across town on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert opened his own monologue celebrating the news.
“Let’s talk about Kristi Noem getting fired!” he told his audience, adding sarcastically that it was “too soon to know why.” Colbert briefly joked that he was reacting to incomplete information, then corrected himself mid-bit.
Jimmy Kimmel has been calling Kristi Noem “the former Secretary of Homeland Security” since before it was true. pic.twitter.com/o3N3ERqz5R
— 𝐿𝓊𝓀𝑒 𝒢 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@Andiamluke) March 6, 2026
Another late-night reaction came from Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! When Kimmel announced the firing, the studio audience reportedly erupted in cheers. “I think I speak for all of us when I say we wish Kristi luck in her brand new, completely made up job,” he said.
Over on The Daily Show, guest host Michael Kosta joked that the administration would now suddenly run smoothly. “Don’t worry about Kristi,” Kosta said. “She already has a new job.” He then mocked the title of the new position. “You know it’s a promotion when the job was invented six minutes ago using refrigerator magnets.”
For decades, late-night television has treated politics as open material. Trump’s first administration produced hundreds of those moments. The second term appears to be continuing the tradition.
