Officials Post Viral Images Ahead of Midterm Vote

The White House and the Department of Agriculture shared two images on social media this week that critics have called inflammatory, just days before the midterm elections.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted a photograph on X on Saturday showing a Black man standing before stacks of U.S. currency. The caption read, "SNAP FRAUDSTER." The man held a lit bill in his hand. The background displayed a graphic of Spirit Halloween costume packaging with the text, "Some costumes come with a price tag. This one comes with a prison sentence." Rollins, who was nominated for her role in November 2024, appears to have taken the image from an Instagram post made by an account named Shawty Dred in September 2025.

On Thursday, the White House account on X featured a different image. It showed a pumpkin with the shape of a sombrero carved into its surface. The post included the phrase, "Spooky szn is here."

The timing of these posts coincides with a government campaign to showcase aggressive immigration enforcement and fraud crackdowns. Officials aim to save taxpayer money as rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors make affordability a top concern for voters.

The man in Rollins' photo is Mercedes Reshard New, a social media personality known as Shawty Dred. The Justice Department arrested him on federal charges earlier this month. Prosecutors allege he fraudulently obtained more than $4 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Georgia. Federal prosecutors stated in a release on October 21 that New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts using stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026. He allegedly applied for his company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized retailer and used EBT debit cards to extract the funds.

New's Instagram account, which has over two million followers, depicted a luxurious lifestyle, including private jets and Rolls-Royce vehicles. Marlo Graham, the Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in the release that New used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury instead of feeding families in need. New was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 7 on dozens of counts, including mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was arrested on October 13 and remains in federal custody.

This is not the first time the administration has posted controversial imagery. During the government shutdown last year, the White House played a deepfake video of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a fake mustache and sombrero. Jeffries described the meme as bigoted. Vice President JD Vance promised the sombrero memes would stop when Democrats agreed to end the shutdown. The NAACP, the White House, and Rollins did not respond to emails seeking comment on the new posts.