Trump Administration Faces Backlash Over Inflammatory Halloween Posts Ahead Of US Elections

The Donald Trump administration has come under criticism for sharing inflammatory social media posts featuring racially charged imagery just days before the US midterm elections. The posts, shared by the White House and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, have reignited concerns over the administration's rhetoric on immigration, fraud and race.

Rollins on Saturday posted an image on X depicting a Black man standing in front of stacks of US currency, with the headline 'SNAP FRAUDSTER'. Designed like a Halloween costume advertisement, the image carried the message, “Some costumes come with a price tag. This one comes with a prison sentence.” The man was holding what appeared to be a burning banknote.

The image appeared to be based on an Instagram photograph of Mercedes Reshard New, a social media personality known as 'Shawty Dred', who was arrested in Georgia on federal charges linked to an alleged $4 million food assistance fraud scheme.

Separately, the White House shared a photograph of a pumpkin carved with a sombrero design on Thursday, accompanied by the caption 'Spooky szn is here'. Critics have questioned the imagery and its timing, particularly amid the administration's intensified immigration enforcement campaign ahead of the elections.

According to the US Justice Department, New allegedly controlled more than 350 fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) accounts created using stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026. Prosecutors allege that he obtained approximately $4.6 million in benefits through fraudulent accounts and siphoned around $4 million using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.

He was indicted on October 7 on 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft and additional charges involving SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices. He was arrested on October 13 and remains in federal custody. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The posts have also revived memories of an earlier controversy involving a deepfake image of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and fake moustache during a government shutdown last year. Jeffries described that image as bigoted.

The latest controversy comes as the Trump administration faces accusations of politically targeting Democratic-led states, including California and Minnesota, through fraud investigations. Federal authorities have also investigated allegations involving Representative Ilhan Omar's family's immigration paperwork.

Neither the White House nor Rollins responded to requests for comment. The controversy comes as affordability, rising healthcare costs, immigration and government spending remain major issues for voters ahead of the midterm elections.