Sarah Huckabee Sanders faces backlash over welfare reform ad

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing backlash from conservative critics following the release of a new campaign advertisement regarding welfare reform. The ad promotes her “welfare-to-work” standard, which requires non-exempt, young, and healthy recipients of government assistance to work, attend school, or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month.

The controversy stems from the casting choice in the commercial. The advertisement features a white male actor, referred to as “Brad,” depicted lounging in a beanbag chair and playing video games to represent a person refusing to work. Some conservative commentators, including Matt Walsh, have criticized the ad, arguing that the use of a white actor failed to utilize racial stereotypes often associated with welfare recipients in political discourse.