On August 14, 2025, a heated debate erupted on national television after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a series of controversial social media posts that critics say evoke white nationalist and fascist imagery. The posts, which appeared on the official DHS channels, have drawn sharp condemnation from former security officials and analysts, igniting a wider conversation about the tone and intent of government messaging in a politically charged climate.
The controversy was brought into the spotlight during an episode of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, where senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem and former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa discussed the implications of the DHS’s recent online activity. According to CNN, one particularly contentious post featured Uncle Sam standing at a crossroads, with signs pointing toward “law and order” on one side and “homeland and cultural decline” on the other. The post’s caption, “Which way, American man?” immediately set off alarms among extremism watchdogs and analysts familiar with far-right symbolism.
Anderson Cooper, hosting the segment, provided crucial context for viewers: “That phrase appears to be an allusion to the title of the book Which Way Western Man,” he explained. The book, authored by white nationalist William Gayley Simpson, has become a touchstone within far-right circles and is frequently referenced in extremist memes and online discourse. The use of such a phrase in official government communication, Cooper noted, was unprecedented and deeply troubling to many observers.
When reached for comment by CNN, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the criticism, stating, “Calling everything you dislike Nazi propaganda is tiresome.” She added that the image was simply meant to depict Uncle Sam, as a symbol of America, “at a crossroads, pondering which way America should go.”
But for Kayyem, who previously served as an assistant secretary at DHS and now analyzes national security issues for CNN, the stakes were far higher than a simple misunderstanding. “It’s a combination of fear and nostalgia,” she told Cooper. “Fear of the other, fear of an America that is going to be overrun by immigrants and caravans and whatever, and people who are going to rape and loot and do all these horrible things to you. And nostalgia—this other world that existed at some stage where everyone is white and everyone is safe, and there’s no diversity, no cities, and there’s prairies. This is purposeful.”
Kayyem did not mince words about the intent behind the DHS messaging. “If DHS doesn’t know what they’re doing, people should lose their jobs. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re doing it to create an idea of the homeland that is consistent with their immigration policy, with their policy against cities, with their economic policy. And so this is just the manifestation of it.” She doubled down on her assessment, stating bluntly, “I really think pushing back on the DHS spokeswoman’s comment is important. It is Nazi propaganda, period. It just is.”
The segment also highlighted additional DHS posts that have drawn fire. According to Raw Story, another image showed a white pioneer family praying in a covered wagon, accompanied by the caption, “Remember your homeland’s heritage.” Critics argue that such imagery glorifies a pre–civil rights era vision of America, one that excludes the country’s history of diversity and multiculturalism. These posts, they say, are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern reflecting the current administration’s hardline stance on immigration and cultural identity.
Former FBI agent Asha Rangappa, who teaches about propaganda and disinformation, joined Kayyem in condemning the DHS posts. “Juliette is absolutely right. This has all the hallmarks of classic fascist propaganda, which has several features. The main one is an ‘us versus them’ framing. You know, this isn’t Reagan’s ‘shining city on a hill’ where everybody is welcome. This isn’t the melting pot. This is, ‘This country is under attack—us—and we need to defend it against them,’” Rangappa explained on CNN.
Rangappa’s remarks echoed a growing concern among academics and civil rights advocates that the language and imagery used by DHS are not merely clumsy or tone-deaf, but are instead calculated to stoke division and anxiety. The invocation of “law and order” juxtaposed with “cultural decline” taps into deep-rooted fears about demographic change, immigration, and the perceived loss of traditional values—tropes that have long been staples of far-right propaganda, both in the United States and abroad.
The response from DHS, however, has been steadfast. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin’s statement—“Calling everything you dislike Nazi propaganda is tiresome”—reflects a broader pushback from officials who argue that critics are reading too much into what they describe as patriotic, if provocative, imagery. Yet, as Kayyem and Rangappa both pointed out, the use of specific phrases and historical references associated with white nationalist movements makes it difficult to accept such explanations at face value.
Underlying the debate is a fundamental question about the role of government agencies in shaping national identity and public discourse. The imagery of Uncle Sam at a crossroads, the invocation of a white pioneer family, and the deliberate referencing of far-right literature are not accidental, according to Kayyem. “They’re doing it to create an idea of the homeland that is consistent with their immigration policy, with their policy against cities, with their economic policy,” she asserted on CNN, suggesting a deliberate alignment with the administration’s broader ideological agenda.
The controversy comes at a time when issues of immigration, national identity, and extremism are already at the forefront of American political debate. The Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and its rhetoric around cultural change have been the subject of fierce criticism and support in equal measure, with the DHS often finding itself at the center of these battles. For many on the right, the agency’s messaging is seen as a necessary assertion of traditional values and national sovereignty. For others, it is a dangerous flirtation with the darkest chapters of American and European history.
As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the power of symbolism and language in shaping public perception cannot be underestimated. Whether intended as a dog whistle to extremists or as an innocent call for reflection, the DHS’s posts have succeeded in sparking a national conversation about who gets to define America’s heritage—and whose voices are left out of that story.
With analysts like Kayyem and Rangappa continuing to sound the alarm, and officials at DHS standing firm in their defense, the crossroads at which Uncle Sam stands is more than just a metaphor. It is a reflection of a country grappling with its identity, its history, and the direction it will take in the years to come.