Topline
Former President Donald Trump removed a video that suggested “the creation of unified Reich” under a second Trump presidency from his Truth Social account early Tuesday, amid fierce blowback over its parallels to Nazi rhetoric.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom for his trial for allegedly covering up … [+] hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Mark Peterson – Pool/Getty Images)
Key Facts
The term, echoing the “Third Reich” designation Adolf Hitler used to refer to Nazi Germany, appears three times in the 30-second video, which features hypothetical headlines and newspaper articles if Trump were to win a second term.
The video, posted Monday afternoon, includes text that states “German industrial strength and production had significantly increased after 1871, driven by the creation of a unified Reich,” a phrase that appears in a Wikipedia entry about World War I in reference to the German Empire that was dismantled in the conflict, prompting Hitler’s rise.
Another mock headline reads “What’s next for America?” above the text “Strength significantly increased by the creation of a unified Reich.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday the video 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.”
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Chief Critics
The Biden campaign accused Trump of “echoing Nazi Germany” on Monday, and White House spokesperson Andrew Bates on Tuesday called it “abhorrent, sickening and disgraceful for anyone to promote content associated with Germany’s Nazi government under Adolf Hitler.” Vice President Kamala Harris also called out Trump during remarks at a convention Tuesday, telling the crowd “just yesterday, the former president of the United States, who praises dictators . . . took to social media and highlighted language from Nazi Germany. Highlighted language from Nazi Germany. This kind of rhetoric is unsurprising coming from the former president, and it is appalling.”
Key Background
Trump has repeatedly drawn criticism for praising and echoing dictators as he discusses an even more radical agenda for a second White House term that includes rounding up and deporting undocumented immigrants en masse. On at least two occasions over the past year, he has declared that illegal immigration is “poisoning the blood” of the country, a phrase that closely mirrors one used several times in Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to describe the “influx of foreign blood” as “poison.” Trump later said he wasn’t aware that Hitler used the term. In November, he referred to his political adversaries as “vermin,” a term used in Nazi propaganda to dehumanize Jews and spread false claims that they carried disease. Weeks later, Trump sparked widespread condemnation when he dined with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West in November, on the heels of West’s antisemitic social media rants. He has also repeatedly accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating Israel and “their religion” while discussing the Israel-Hamas war in recent months, echoing statements he made during his time as president.
Further Reading
Trump Compares Political Foes To ‘Vermin’ On Veterans Day—Echoing Nazi Propaganda (Forbes)
Trump Doubles Down On Anti-Immigrant ‘Blood’ Slur—Despite Widespread Criticism He’s Quoting Hitler (Forbes)
