U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
One of President Donald Trump's Cabinet members is attracting a wave of mockery after suggesting Americans worried about the rising cost of groceries should simply stick to a menu that struck social media users as similar to food eaten in prisons.
During a Wednesday interview on the conservative NewsNation network, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that while the Trump administration is "asking Americans to reconsider what they're eating," the administration is adamant that Americans don't need to spend more money to improve their diets.
"We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla, and one other thing," Rollins said. "So there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money."
Rollins' comments prompted swift ridicule from various journalists, commentators, experts and other social media users. Attorney Andrew Kinsey quipped on Bluesky: "A serving size of broccoli is famously 'a piece.'" Massachusetts-based professor Matthew Noe wrote: "'A piece of broccoli' is an insane thing to reference."
"A sad chicken broccoli taco 'and [one] other thing'? I'd like to see those 'simulations,'" progressive organizer Murshed Zaheed wrote on Bluesky.
"'You should eat prison meals' [probably] not the best message," Columbia Journalism School professor Marlow Stern tweeted.
"'please ma’am, may i have another,'" former University of Mississippi assistant athletic director Jon Evans posted to X, referencing the famous line from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.
"'Let them eat cake' moment. F—— these evil b——!" Another X user wrote in response to Rollins' comments. "Where's our French revolution ffs???"
Watch the video of Rollins' remarks below:
