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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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The Trump administration has been accused of quoting a white supremacist who was backed by a Neo-Nazi group, as part of its social media campaign to recruit immigration enforcement agents.
In a post shared to X on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said "Which way, American man?", a quote appearing to reference Which Way, Western Man, a 1978 book by the avowed white supremacist William Gayley Simpson, who argued Hitler was right and Jews must be killed. The phrase has also been a part of online meme culture for years, typically stripped of its relation to the Simpson book.
"This administration has made a point of further normalizing explicit extremism—from dangerous conspiracy theories and rhetoric, to the appointment of officials with deep extremist ties, to dehumanizing policies," Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told Newsweek.
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Responding to Newsweek's question about whether the person who posted the quote understood its origin, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asked: "Where are we quoting a white supremacist?" adding, "This is so embarrassing for Newsweek."
Why It Matters
The post comes as the Trump administration has used its government social media accounts to share memes, quotes and trends as part of its messaging on policy, particularly when it comes to immigration. Supporters have praised the administration for keeping its finger on the pulse of the digital conversation, while critics have said the posts are not befitting the status of federal government offices at best and racist dog-whistles at worst.
What To Know
Simpson's book has been widely criticized as racist and antisemitic, with the author writing that if the U.S. was to survive, then "all aliens" including Jewish, Asian and Black people would "have to be put out and kept out."
In another chapter, Simpson wrote that Hitler was right in his actions leading up to WWII, and that the U.S. would need to take a similar approach.
The book was published by the National Alliance, a known Neo-Nazi group which says on its website that it believes multi-racial societies cannot be healthy, and governments cannot be good if they serve more than one racial entity.
The "Which way?" post, shared on the DHS X account, included an illustration of Uncle Sam at a crossroads from 1936, which referenced President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
The original image included Uncle Sam holding a sign which said "Prosperity", with signs pointing in different directions reading "New Deal," "Liberty," "Opportunity," "Inflation," and "Depression".
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DHS' version changed the words, with the sign in his hands reading "Law and Order"—a familiar phrase used by the Trump administration—along with "Opportunity," "Homeland," and "Service," pointing in one direction, and "Invasion," and "Cultural Decline" in the other.
The use of the image comes after similar uses of older U.S. artwork depicting seemingly bygone eras of American life and war time messaging. Bible quotes have also begun appearing as part of social media messaging when promoting DHS' efforts in defending the homeland.
What People Are Saying
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told Newsweek: "At a moment of record antisemitism and broader violent hate, we know where this increasingly mainstreamed extremism leads. I'll also note that yesterday and today are the 8th anniversary of the Charlottesville violence, which was fueled by the very same white supremacist ideas."
A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) told Newsweek: "Not only does the image basically equate migrants in the U.S. with 'cultural decay' and 'invasion,' but also the accompanying text clearly evokes the title of early 20th century white supremacist and antisemite William Gayley Simpson's book Which Way, Western Man? In that book, which is popular with neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, Simpson argued that Western civilization was in decline and that Blacks and Jews (as well as Asians) threatened the very existence of the white race.
"A U.S. government agency should not resort to using such language and imagery for any purpose, let alone recruiting people to serve."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, on X: "To be blunt; the propagandists running @DHSgov are deliberately pushing thinly-veiled neo-Nazi material through the official communications channels of the U.S. government. Their goal is stirring outrage (to which they will express fake outrage) and signaling to their followers."
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, on X: "It's a common meme & I'd be surprised if 1 in a million heard of the book. Book sounds loathsome, so in that respect the meme is like "This Land Is Your Land", written by a Stalinist lickspittle (w/ commie verses at the end) but now disconnected from its origin & widely accepted."
What Happens Next
DHS is continuing its social media push as part of a recruitment campaign for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with over 100,000 people said to have applied for roles over the past few weeks. The agency was given $75 billion in funding as part of President Trump's recent tax and spending bill, with $30 billion earmarked strictly for hiring.
Updated 8/13/2025 at 1:10 p.m.: This story was updated to include a comment from the Anti-Defamation League.
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