US administration criticised for inflammatory social media posts ahead of elections

The Trump administration’s official social media accounts have posted images that critics say are inflammatory, just days before the US mid‑term elections.

One post by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on X showed a Black man standing before stacks of what appear to be US dollars with the caption “SNAP FRAUDSTER”, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The image includes a bill set alight and the tagline “Some costumes come with a price tag. This one comes with a prison sentence.”

Another White House post displayed a pumpkin carved with a sombrero design and the text “Spooky szn is here”. The Rollins image appears to have been taken from an Instagram post by an account called Shawty Dred, later identified by the Justice Department as Mercedes Reshard New, who was arrested on federal fraud charges for allegedly obtaining more than €4 million in SNAP benefits in Georgia.

The posts coincide with a broader government campaign highlighting aggressive immigration enforcement and efforts to curb alleged fraud, amid rising healthcare costs and economic concerns for voters. The White House and the NAACP did not respond to requests for comment.

Background

Similar controversial memes have been posted by the White House before, including a deep‑fake video of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries with a mustache and sombrero during a previous government shutdown. Federal prosecutors say New controlled over 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts between January 2020 and July 2026, using stolen identities to extract roughly €4 million.

Source: ABC News. Photo: greenwish _ / Pexels.