Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Republican governor of Arkansas, is facing unexpected criticism from MAGA supporters over a new campaign advert promoting a work requirement for recipients of welfare in the state. Sanders’ ad focused on “Brad,” a young white man with a game controller in hand and potato chips within reach. "Brad has turned relaxing into a full-time profession," Sanders said in the ad, speaking directly to the viewer.
You pay taxes to cover welfare for guys like Brad who just choose not to work." Sanders, a White House press secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, is the first female governor of Arkansas and is running for a second term with the backing of the president. Newsweek reached out to Sanders via email for comment. The depiction was quickly slammed by right-wing voices.
Sean Davis, editor of the right-wing blog The Federalist, said: “Your ad targeted and mocked the one demographic—young white men—that is least likely to be on welfare and yet the most likely to be illegally locked out of the job market. Why?” He called the welfare program a "great policy" that was at risk of being overshadowed by what he described as a "terrible ad that is so dishonest and insulting." Jenna Ellis, a self-described constitutional conservative and radio host, said: “Who advised Sarah this was a good idea?! Some young white men may still live on their parents’ welfare, but very few live on government welfare.
Those are two completely different issues. Don’t make the young white male (a voting demo the GOP needs) the enemy here.” Other critics shared statistics around welfare use in the U.S. Republican influencer Matt Van Swol cited old statistics from 2012 that showed Black households claiming the most welfare.
While Trump-supporting pastor Joel Webbon said: “Why pick a White man? You should make your message more believable by picking someone Black.” Sanders hit back on X: “Some critics online don't like my welfare work requirement ad. Next thing you know they’ll say I should have used cookies instead of cheese balls.
If you are able-bodied you should not collect welfare simply because you choose not to work. Period.” Programs often referred to as “welfare” include SNAP food benefits, TANF cash assistance for families with children and Medicaid or CHIP that provides health coverage for low-income people and children aged 19 and under respectively. Each has their own rules and eligibility criteria, and the demographic receiving each varies as a result.
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