Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump's Social Media Shares Campaign Video Touting a 'Unified Reich'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
May 21, 2024

A controversial video referencing a "unified Reich" appeared on Trump's social media account, drawing criticism for its historical connotations, but was later deleted with his campaign claiming it was mistakenly posted by a staffer. (AP/Sarah Yenesel)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — A video posted to Donald Trump’s account on his social media network included references to a “unified Reich” among hypothetical news headlines if he wins the election in November.

“Reich” is Associated with Nazi Germany

The headline appears among messages flashing across the screen such as “Trump wins!!” and “Economy booms!” Other headlines appear to be references to World War I. The word “Reich” is often largely associated with Nazi Germany’s Third Reich, though the references in the video Trump shared appear to be a reference to the formation of the modern pan-German nation, unifying smaller states into a single Reich, or empire, in 1871.

The 30-second video appeared Monday on Trump’s account at a time when the presumptive Republican nominee for president, while seeking to portray President Joe Biden as soft on antisemitism, has himself repeatedly faced criticism for using language and rhetoric associated with Nazi Germany.

Posted on Lunch Break During Trial

It was posted and shared on the former president’s Truth Social account while he was on a lunch break from his Manhattan hush money trial Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, the post of the video had been deleted.

“This was not a campaign video, it was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word, while the President was in court,” Karoline Leavitt, the campaign press secretary, said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Trump said at a fundraiser that Biden is running a “Gestapo administration,” referring to the secret Nazi police force.

Trump previously used rhetoric echoing Adolf Hitler when he said immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country,” and called his opponents “vermin.”

The former president has also drawn wide backlash for having dined with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist in 2022 and for downplaying the 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us!”

At least one of the headlines flashing in the video appears to be text that is copied verbatim from a Wikipedia entry on World War I: “German industrial strength and production had significantly increased after 1871, driven by the creation of a unified Reich.”

In one image, the headlines “Border Is Closed” and “15 Million Illegal Aliens Deported” appear above smaller text with the start and end dates of World War I.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

UCLA Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students From Campus, Judge Says

DON'T MISS

Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans

DON'T MISS

Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.

DON'T MISS

Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis

DON'T MISS

Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players

DON'T MISS

Presented With Rise in Border Crossings, Kamala Harris Chose a Long-Term Approach to the Problem

DON'T MISS

WHO Declares Mpox Outbreaks in Africa a Global Health Emergency as a New Form of the Virus Spreads

DON'T MISS

What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses

DON'T MISS

Vikings QB McCarthy Needs Surgery on Meniscus Tear in Right Knee

DON'T MISS

Japan’s Prime Minister Prepares to Step Down. Why, and What’s Next?

UP NEXT

Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans

UP NEXT

Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.

UP NEXT

Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis

UP NEXT

Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players

UP NEXT

Presented With Rise in Border Crossings, Kamala Harris Chose a Long-Term Approach to the Problem

UP NEXT

WHO Declares Mpox Outbreaks in Africa a Global Health Emergency as a New Form of the Virus Spreads

UP NEXT

What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses

UP NEXT

Vikings QB McCarthy Needs Surgery on Meniscus Tear in Right Knee

UP NEXT

Japan’s Prime Minister Prepares to Step Down. Why, and What’s Next?

UP NEXT

Ukraine Says It Has Taken More Ground and Prisoners During Its Advance Into Russia Border Region

Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis

2 hours ago

Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players

3 hours ago

Presented With Rise in Border Crossings, Kamala Harris Chose a Long-Term Approach to the Problem

3 hours ago

WHO Declares Mpox Outbreaks in Africa a Global Health Emergency as a New Form of the Virus Spreads

3 hours ago

What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses

4 hours ago

Vikings QB McCarthy Needs Surgery on Meniscus Tear in Right Knee

4 hours ago

Japan’s Prime Minister Prepares to Step Down. Why, and What’s Next?

4 hours ago

Ukraine Says It Has Taken More Ground and Prisoners During Its Advance Into Russia Border Region

4 hours ago

Michigan’s Sherrone Moore Looks Forward to Release of Text Messages in Sign-Stealing Investigation

5 hours ago

Fresno State Foundation Gets $8M Federal Grant to Boost Graduation Rate

5 hours ago

UCLA Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students From Campus, Judge Says

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the University of California, Los Angeles, from allowing protesters to set up encampments that...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

UCLA Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students From Campus, Judge Says

1 hour ago

Ukraine’s Surprise Attack Has Forced Russia to Change Plans

2 hours ago

Californians Will Vote on $18 Minimum Wage. Workers Want $25 and More.

2 hours ago

Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis

3 hours ago

Mark Gardner on Giants’ 2014 World Series Title, Why Fresno Turns Out Great Players

3 hours ago

Presented With Rise in Border Crossings, Kamala Harris Chose a Long-Term Approach to the Problem

3 hours ago

WHO Declares Mpox Outbreaks in Africa a Global Health Emergency as a New Form of the Virus Spreads

4 hours ago

What the Republican Party Might Look Like if Trump Loses

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend