A video shared on former President Donald Trump's Truth Social account on Monday has drawn sharp criticism from the Biden campaign for its inclusion of a reference to a "unified Reich" among potential developments if Trump were to win re-election in November.
The 30-second clip, which asks "what happens after Donald Trump wins?" and "what's next for America?" features hypothetical newspaper front pages with headlines such as "BORDER IS CLOSED - 15 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS DEPORTED" and "ECONOMY BOOMS."
However, it was the appearance of slightly blurred text beneath the headlines that read "Industrial strength significantly increased ... driven by the creation of a unified Reich" that sparked outrage from Democrats. The term "Reich," meaning realm, kingdom, or empire, is often associated with the Third Reich regime of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany.
James Singer, spokesman for President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, swiftly condemned the video, stating, "America, stop scrolling and pay attention. Donald Trump is not playing games; he is telling America exactly what he intends to do if he regains power: rule as a dictator over a 'unified reich.'" Singer further accused Trump of "parroting 'Mein Kampf'" while warning of a bloodbath if he loses, calling it "the type of unhinged behavior you get from a guy who knows that democracy continues to reject his extreme vision of chaos, division, and violence."
In response to the controversy, Trump's campaign dismissed the allegation and claimed that the former president, who is currently on trial in New York, was unaware of the word's presence in the video. Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign spokeswoman, stated, "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." Leavitt went on to accuse Joe Biden of being the "real extremist" for allegedly turning his back on Israel and the Jewish people by "bowing down to radical anti-semites and terrorist sympathizers in his party like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."
Upon closer inspection, the text from the video shared on Truth Social appears to be taken from the Wikipedia page for World War I, which reads, "German industrial strength and production had significantly increased after 1871, driven by the creation of a unified Reich." The unification of Germany in 1871 brought together various German-speaking kingdoms and duchies that had remained independent following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Another sentence in the video reads, "First World War (often abbreviated as WW1 or WWI) Causes of World War I."
This is not the first time Trump has used 20th-century German historical comparisons to attack his opponents. Earlier this month, he compared the Biden administration to the "Gestapo," the secret police force of Nazi Germany. Late last year, Trump said immigrants were "poisoning the blood" of America, echoing parts of Mein Kampf, but he claimed to be unaware that Hitler had used similar language and denied the comments were racist.
The video was removed from Trump's Truth Social account on Tuesday morning, but the controversy continues to fuel the ongoing debate about the former president's rhetoric and its potential implications. As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the use of such charged language and historical references is likely to remain a point of contention between the Trump and Biden campaigns.
