Labor Leaders Warn Trump Admin's Rhetoric Signals Shift Toward Extremism: 'Disturbing and Harkens Back to a Whites-Only Era'

"The similarity to that Nazi slogan is bad," Christopher Hayes, a labor historian and professor at Rutgers University, told The Guardian, citing concern over "the motivation behind it, the message, the sentiment and desired outcome."

Hayes added that the imagery promotes a narrow definition of national identity that excludes immigrants and minorities. "The point is to convince [people] he is the real American ... and only people like him belong. It's the same thing the Nazis did," he said.

Jimmy Williams Jr., general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, echoed those concerns, saying that the department has repeatedly imitated "far-right and fascist imagery" online. "When people tell you who they are, believe them," he said.

Puneet Maharaj, executive director of National Nurses United, said the posts reflect "part of a broader rhetorical shift towards white supremacy that many federal departments and agencies are undergoing under the Trump administration."

The Department of Labor rejected claims of ideological intent, telling The Guardian that the social media campaign was created "to celebrate American workers and the American Dream."

The controversy follows earlier scrutiny of messaging across other federal agencies. In August, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch project reported that the Department of Homeland Security had incorporated white nationalist and neo-Nazi imagery into some Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruitment materials. DHS dismissed those findings at the time.

In July, DHS also faced backlash after sharing imagery linked to Manifest Destiny and captions invoking "homeland" and "heritage," language critics said echoed white supremacist dog whistles. DHS said at the time that the administration was "unapologetically proud of American history and American heritage."

Inside the Labor Department, current and former staff described growing unease. One former official said the rhetoric was "disturbing and harkens back to a whites-only era," while another warned that politicized messaging undermines trust in the agency's mission and credibility with workers and employers.