When a Propaganda Stunt Collides with People Who Still Have a Spine

Kristi Noem’s TSA video blaming Democrats for the shutdown was blocked by airports across the country. Here’s why that matters...and what it proves about America’s remaining guardrails

When a Propaganda Stunt Collides with People Who Still Have a Spine

Kristi Noem’s TSA video blaming Democrats for the shutdown was blocked by airports across the country. Here’s why that matters...and what it proves about America’s remaining guardrails

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #596: Monday, October 13th, 2025.

The Video That Never Took Off

On October 13 ( CNN ), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tried something new:

An airport video blaming Democrats for the government shutdown and the chaos it caused…unpaid TSA agents…flight delays…stranded passengers.
The plan was to play it on loop at TSA checkpoints across the country.

But the plan didn’t fly.

Airports from Los Angeles to Seattle to Buffalo said “no.”
Their reason was simple: airport screens aren’t political billboards.

Officials cited neutrality rules…the Hatch Act…and basic respect for travelers who didn’t sign up to be captive audiences.
(Washington Post, 10 / 13 / 25; Reuters, 10 / 9 / 25)

Within hours…the story spread. The video that was supposed to shape the narrative instead became a symbol of pushback…the kind that still works quietly inside the system.

Why This Moment Matters More Than It Looks

On the surface…it’s a minor bureaucratic tussle. One political stunt grounded by red tape.

But scratch deeper and you see something worth celebrating: institutional antibodies kicking in.

For years, we’ve watched norms erode…laws bent…agencies politicized…truth treated like a negotiable item.

So when an entire layer of civil servants…airport authorities…and legal officers refused to cross a line…that was democracy’s immune system at work.

They didn’t riot.
They didn’t grandstand.
They just enforced the rules that keep public infrastructure from becoming campaign machinery.

That’s not resistance theater. That’s professional integrity.

Proof the Guardrails Still Function

One of my mentors liked to remind entrepreneurs: “Your system is only as strong as the weakest link you’ll tolerate.”

Democracy works the same way.

And here’s the good news: the weakest links didn’t break.

Airport administrators read the memo…saw the part about political content, and said… Nope.

TSA employees…already working without paychecks because of the shutdown…didn’t become props.
And somewhere deep inside DHS, career lawyers no doubt whispered, “We’re not going to court over this.”

That’s what real resistance looks like.

Not hashtags. Not marches. Quiet…competent refusal to participate in wrongdoing.

It tells us that the machinery still contains patriots who take their oaths seriously… even when it means defying their own leadership’s messaging.

The Grassroots Factor

The institutional pushback mattered, but it wasn’t the whole story.

The second half came from ordinary people who noticed.

Within hours of CNN posting the footage…social feeds lit up with travelers…activists… and journalists tagging airport accounts:

“You’re not really going to run government propaganda at TSA checkpoints, are you?”

That’s vigilance in action.

The Washington Post reported that several airports decided to pull the plug only after public complaints started flooding in.

Grassroots outrage moved faster than bureaucratic caution.

That’s how democracy should work: the people bark…the institutions listen…the power retreats.

No riots, no chaos…just awareness doing its job.

Propaganda Is a Test of Reflexes

Authoritarians test systems the way hackers test firewalls: send small probes and see what gets through.

This airport stunt was one of those probes.

When you can turn a security checkpoint into a political broadcast booth…you control the story at a primal level: fear + authority = compliance.

That’s what the Noem video was designed to exploit.
Every traveler waiting barefoot at a scanner would have subconsciously absorbed the message that only one party cared about their safety.

That’s the danger.
And yet…in this case…the firewall held.

The reflexes worked…because people inside and outside the system recognized the move instantly.

Bureaucracy as Bulwark

In an age when “bureaucrat” is used like an insult…this moment proved how valuable the bureaucracy can be.

It was airport directors…federal lawyers…and compliance officers who stopped the message before it hit the screens.

They didn’t do it for fame.

They did it because they still believe that government resources belong to the people… not to one party.

This is the same mindset that…earlier this year…blocked Section 70302 of the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

That clause would have stripped judges of contempt power if no bond was posted…a direct threat to judicial enforcement.

Public pressure exposed it; Senate rules killed it.
Same pattern…same result: the antibodies still work.

What We Can Learn From the Win

Outrage works best when it’s precise.

The airports didn’t cave to vague anger…they responded to specific…documented concerns.

Institutions need visible allies.

Every official who said no had to know that people would back them up. That’s why naming and praising these refusals matters.

Propaganda thrives on fatigue.

When citizens stay alert even to “small” stories…the big ones have less oxygen.

Never underestimate the professionals.

The bureaucrats…lawyers…and administrators who quietly hold the line are as essential to democracy as any protestor with a sign.

Hope With Teeth

This episode doesn’t mean everything’s fine.
It means resistance works when we stay awake.

Each time a propaganda test fails, it teaches the next would-be authoritarian that the country still has reflexes.
It also teaches us that vigilance can be learned…practiced…and scaled.

That’s why I’m optimistic.

The system isn’t clean…but it’s alive.
The same professional class that caught the airport stunt will catch the next buried clause…the next fake emergency order…the next “pilot program” designed to normalize control.

Because enough of us are watching…and because public heat still matters.

The story of the Kristi Noem video isn’t just about what was stopped.
It’s about who stopped it: citizens…employees…lawyers…administrators…all deciding that integrity outranks loyalty.

That’s not resistance in theory. That’s democracy at work.

Oh…we are very much still in the fight. Very much.

Back soon,

-Jack

Sources referenced:
Reporting by CNN (10 / 13 / 25), Reuters (10 / 9 / 25), and The Washington Post (10 / 13 / 25) on airport refusals to air the DHS video; background on the Hatch Act and budget shutdown implications from the same outlets.