Donald Trump 'Unified Reich' Video Leaves People Stunned

[Boats]

Donald Trump 'Unified Reich' Video Leaves People Stunned
Published May 21, 2024 at 4:26 AM EDT - Updated May 21, 2024 at 5:06 AM EDT
By: Kate Plummer - Newweek News
Re: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trum...2831?piano_t=1

A video Donald Trump posted on his social media platform about a "unified reich" has drawn criticism from those likening it to Nazism.

Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for November's presidential election and, with less than six months to go, he is stepping up his campaigning via rallies and social media. Posting on Truth Social, the former president shared a video suggesting there will be a "unified reich" if he wins the 2024 election.

In the 30-second clip, the unknown video narrator asks "what happens after Donald Trump wins," while a number of mocked-up newspaper headlines appear in the background. One says "industrial strength significantly increased driven by the creation of a unified reich."

The word "reich" is associated with Nazi Germany's Third Reich, although there is no suggestion that Trump was overtly referencing Nazi Germany.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump's campaign press secretary, told Newsweek: "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 [former] President was in court."

An account supporting Democratic President Joe Biden, Biden's Wins, said Trump was "actively parroting Nazi talking points."

Meanwhile, Biden's campaign said he was "echoing Nazi Germany."

Columnist Rex Huppke suggested the video was "a signal to certain followers" and was "not an accident."

Brooklyn Dad Defiant, an X user with over 1.3 million followers said: "MAGA has gone full Nazi."

Referring to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's 1925 autobiographical manifesto, a spokesperson for the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign told ABC News the video was "parroting Mein Kampf."

James Singer said: "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.' Parroting Mein Kampf while you warn of a bloodbath if you lose is 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."

Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., said he suspected the video was posted deliberately.

"While the Trump campaign often seems less-than-discerning in the choice of material they amplify through Truth Social, they're always conscious of the content. The 'mistakes' they make are conscious and deliberate.

"This story, rather than the conclusion of the prosecution case in the trial against the former president in New York, will dominate the news agenda today. It will be dismissed as a staffer's error while the media wrings its hands over Trump's totalitarian leanings. That's the deflection the GOP wants. Happenstance or a 'mistake' by design? Probably the latter."

Update 05/21/24, 6:37 a.m. ET: This story was updated with a response from Karoline Leavitt.

About this writer:

Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and she is particularly interested in the impact of social policy decisions on people as well as the finances of political campaigns, corruption, foreign policy, democratic processes and more. Prior to joining Newsweek, she covered U.K. politics extensively. Kate joined Newsweek in 2023 from The Independent and has also been published in multiple publications including The Times and the Daily Mail. She has a B.A. in History from the University of Oxford and an M.A. in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London.

Languages: English.

You can get in touch with Kate by emailing k.plummer@newsweek.com, or by following her on X at @kateeplummer.
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Personal comment:
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Seems like we will be wearing arm bands soon. It's got all the signs leaning
towards a Supreme Leadership! Is this what you the people want! We will
have to wait and see. The clock is running & soon voting will take place -
get your arm bands out.
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