Trump official under fire for ‘insane’ SNAP fraudster Halloween costume
Rollins shares costume graphic
The image showed a Black man wearing jewelry in front of stacks of cash. Its listed accessories included fake grills, an EBT card and handcuffs. Rollins wrote that the costume came with a prison sentence and warned people stealing from taxpayers that “the tricks are over.” She ended the post with a Halloween greeting.
Critics call image racist
Journalist Mehdi Hasan described the post as “just insane white supremacy” and accused Trump cabinet members of open racism. Writer Bill Kristol asked whether anyone in the cabinet would denounce what he called racism. Ohio Representative Shontel Brown called the image “despicable” and “disgusting.” She said she wanted an explanation when Rollins appeared before the Agriculture Committee in January.
Lawmakers offer counterimage
Virginia Representative James Walkinshaw responded with a mock costume portraying President Donald Trump as a “convicted fraudster.” The reference was to Trump’s 34 felony convictions. Other critics pointed to the racial makeup of SNAP recipients. Pew Research Center, citing Census Bureau data, reported that non-Hispanic white people accounted for 37.4 percent of recipients in 2023, compared with 28.7 percent who were Black.
Key points
- Brooke Rollins faced backlash for posting a Halloween costume graphic labeled for a welfare fraudster.
- Critics, including lawmakers and political writers, called the image racist.
- Rollins’s defenders said the graphic depicted Shawty Dred, indicted over an alleged $4 million SNAP fraud scheme.
- In 2023, non-Hispanic white people made up 37.4 percent of SNAP recipients and Black people 28.7 percent.