In the latest MAGA plot twist, Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security has been brutally rebuked by the family of a famous conservative Christian painter.
The estate of Thomas Kinkade, the artist who created a painting used by the DHS in an inflammatory anti-immigration meme, is now considering taking legal action against the government agency, they wrote in a public statement.
The painting, “Morning Pledge,” depicts a saccharine scene of a Christian American utopia: A group of children raises an American flag as dawn approaches a quaint white suburb. On July 1, the DHS posted the painting on X with the caption “Protect the Homeland,” inflaming art critics and the political left.
The Kinkade estate has requested that the DHS remove the post and is consulting with legal counsel, as the department posted the painting without the family’s permission.
“At The Kinkade Family Foundation, we strongly condemn the sentiment expressed in the post and the deplorable actions that DHS continues to carry out,” Kinkade’s family wrote, “Like many of you, we were deeply troubled to see this image used to promote division and xenophobia associated with the ideals of DHS, as this is antithetical to our mission.”
They added, “We stand firmly with our communities who have been threatened and targeted by DHS, especially our immigrant, BIPOC, undocumented, LGBTQ+, and disabled relatives and neighbors.”
This is an unexpected update to the legacy of the Christian painter, whose works adorned the churches and homes of the Christian right in the 1990s.
By the time Kinkade died, he had become a “national joke” in both the art and Christian world, art critic Sarah Jones writes. Kinkade’s “kitsch” aesthetic, however, was adopted by the Trump administration’s social media campaign.
The White House has also adopted provocative AI-generated memes to promote MAGA ideals. Just days before posting Kinkade’s painting, the DHS promoted the opening of “Alligator Alcatraz” with images of AI-generated alligators wearing ICE hats.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Chandler Kinkade, co-director of the Kinkade Family Foundation and Thomas Kinkade’s daughter, wrote that her father dedicated himself to many causes throughout his life, having had a difficult upbringing himself.
“Thomas sought to respond to moments of hardship with compassion and solidarity, standing with communities made vulnerable. To see his work used in ways that promote exclusion and division betrays the very heart of what he stood for,” she wrote.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Washington Post that the agency posts art that “celebrates America’s heritage and history.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the DHS for comment.
