A Department of Labor post on social media is drawing sharp criticism after users said its wording appeared to mirror language associated with Nazi propaganda.
On Jan. 10, the department posted to X: “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.”
Dozens of users replied and reposted the message, arguing it echoed a well-known Nazi Party slogan. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has documented one of the regime’s central phrases as: “One People, One Realm, One Leader.”
The Labor Department’s post accompanied an 11-second video showing a bust of George Washington alongside a black-and-white montage of iconic American historical artwork. The imagery included scenes linked to the American Revolution and propaganda-style posters associated with World War I and World War II.
Pattern of criticism over imagery and rhetoric
This is not the first time the administration has faced criticism for using visuals and phrasing that opponents say resemble messaging circulated in white nationalist spaces, including references that evoke Nazi Germany.
In one example, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security shared an image of a man traveling through snowy mountain terrain with a stealth bomber overhead. The text on the image read, “We’ll have our home again,” and encouraged people to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
British historian and author Adam Tooze, who has written extensively about Nazi Germany and the Third Reich, said on social media that the phrase comes from a “white nationalist anthem.”
In August 2025, a Southern Poverty Law Center review of Department of Homeland Security social media posts and web content said the agency used “white nationalist and anti-immigrant images and slogans in recruitment materials.”
Rockwell family condemnation and “idealized America” visuals
Administration agencies have also been criticized for using imagery that romantically frames American history—particularly its agricultural and economic high points.
In November 2025, descendants of Norman Rockwell condemned the Department of Homeland Security for sharing the painter’s work without authorization. The agency posted three Rockwell images and overlaid slogans including “Protect our American way of life,” “Manifest Heroism,” and a quote attributed to President Calvin Coolidge: “Those who do not want to be partakers of the American spirit ought not to settle in America.”
In an op-ed published in USA TODAY, the family said the administration distorted Rockwell’s legacy and accused the agency of using his work “for the cause of persecution toward immigrant communities and people of color.”
That same month, the Department of Labor rolled out its own social media campaign featuring Rockwell-like illustrations of predominantly White men at work. The visuals resemble mid-20th-century government poster art, with only one post depicting a non-White man.
The campaign promoted the administration’s efforts to expand apprenticeship programs and curb foreign labor, using slogans such as “Build Your Homeland’s Future!” and “Restoring the American Dream!”
