Former President Donald J. Trump posted a controversial video on his social media site, Truth Social, depicting hypothetical newspaper articles celebrating his victory in 2024. The video includes references to a “unified Reich” and is styled like newspapers from the early 1900s, borrowing text from reports on World War I. The video suggests that in a second term, Mr. Trump would deport 15 million migrants and reject “globalists,” a term often associated with the far right and antisemitism.
The Trump campaign claimed that the video had been posted by a staff member while Mr. Trump was in court and that it was not created by the campaign itself. The video was still up on Mr. Trump’s account later that night, despite its controversial content. Mr. Trump has a history of making inflammatory remarks, including denouncing Jews who vote for Democrats and using language reminiscent of authoritarian leaders. His advisers have reportedly been developing plans for a second term that would be more radical than his first.
In November 2022, Mr. Trump had dinner with Nick Fuentes, an antisemite and prominent white supremacist, raising concerns about his ties to extremist individuals. He has also downplayed violent incidents involving white supremacists, such as the rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The term “Reich” used in the video is often associated with Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, specifically the establishment of the “Third Reich.” The use of this term has sparked criticism and accusations of echoing Nazi ideology.
The sentence “German industrial strength significantly increased after 1871, driven by the creation of a unified Reich” is repeated three times in the video, emphasizing a theme of unified strength. This references the formation of the German Empire in 1871 through the unification of various German-speaking states and regions. Hitler leveraged resentment over the dismantling of that empire after World War I, as well as antisemitic beliefs, to rise to power in Nazi Germany and initiate World War II.
President Biden’s campaign condemned Mr. Trump’s video, accusing him of echoing Nazi Germany and raising concerns about what a potential second term under Mr. Trump could bring. The video’s imagery and language have sparked controversy and prompted discussions about the implications of such messaging in political discourse. Mr. Trump’s history of divisive rhetoric and associations with extremist individuals have contributed to the ongoing concern over the direction of his political ambitions and the impact on American society.
