Trump administration's social media posts ahead of elections criticized for being inflammatory

Days before the midterm elections, social media accounts run by the Trump administration are drawing sharp criticism for posts critics call inflammatory. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins shared on X a photo of a Black man in front of piles of apparent cash, labeled a SNAP fraudster, set against mock Halloween costume packaging with a line about a prison sentence. The White House separately put out a pumpkin with a sombrero carved into it. Neither the White House nor Rollins responded to a request for comment, according to ABC News.

The man pictured appears to be Mercedes Reshard New, an influencer known as Shawty Dred. The Justice Department says he was taken into federal custody on Oct. 13, after a grand jury indictment on Oct. 7, over roughly $4 million in food assistance benefits in Georgia. Prosecutors say that between January 2020 and July 2026 he ran more than 350 bogus accounts built on stolen identities, and that his Instagram feed showed private jets and luxury cars. His federal defender, Joseph Austin, did not return a call.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →