Trump deletes 'unified reich' video after backlash and Biden attacks – Le Monde
Thursday, May 23, 2024
12:17 am (Paris)
Ireland, Norway and Spain decide to jointly recognize Palestine as a state
Oregon secessionists want to join Idaho
Ukraine under threat of new front in Sumy region
Twelve days of hell on the front in Ukraine
Why is New Caledonia's electoral reform sparking riots?
What was promised for the Paris Olympics and what will actually be ready?
#MeToo: The making of a historic photo on Le Monde's front page
How billionaire Taylor Swift built her empire
French greenhouse gas emissions fell 5.8% in 2023
Climate change victims file suit against TotalEnergies and its shareholders
Mediterranean wetland birds threatened by rising sea levels
Summer 2023 was hottest in northern hemisphere in 2,000 years
French president flies to riot-struck New Caledonia
Red hands at Paris Shoah Memorial: Investigation points to foreign interference
'We counted the bodies around us': Narcotics Anonymous, the return from hell of ordinary people
Chinese officials are operating in France against dissidents
Gaza: 'If Israel is incapable of proposing a transition, it is because it is categorically opposed to imagining a day after'
Israel-Hamas war: International law versus impunity
'Restricting TikTok in New Caledonia cannot be deemed necessary or proportionate'
Death of Iran's president brings heightened risk of instability in the Middle East
At the Opéra Bastille, the madness of a dreamy 'Don Quixote' in love
Paris's Musée de l'Armée traces the history of the duel
Eight ideas for European Night of Museums
Ten French exhibitions to celebrate 150 years of Impressionism
The video shared on Donald Trump’s Truth Social account showed fictional newspaper headlines celebrating his victory, including one making a reference to Nazi Germany.
2 min read
Donald Trump’s social media account on Tuesday, May 22, removed a video showing fake headlines about a “unified reich” if he wins the 2024 US election, as President Joe Biden accused his election rival of using “Hitler’s language.” Trump’s campaign blamed an inattentive staffer for reposting the 30-second clip, which flashed a series of fictitious news stories painting a picture of American prosperity, with one including the term normally associated with Nazi Germany.
Biden branded the staffer story a “lame” excuse and launched a full-court press over the latest friction point between the two November presidential contenders. “This is the same guy that uses Hitler’s language, not America’s,” Biden told donors during a fundraiser in Boston. “It’s no surprise” that Trump was reported as saying “that Hitler did some, quote, ‘some good things,'” Biden added.
As Biden met supporters, he released a short clip of his own on X, the former Twitter, in which he is seen looking at his phone and appearing shocked that the offending video was on Trump’s official Truth Social account. “Wow. A unified reich? That’s Hitler’s language, that’s not America’s,” Biden says.
The pro-Trump video was posted Monday afternoon and was removed around 19 hours later. “What happens after Donald Trump wins? What’s next for America?” a voiceover asks in the clip as the hypothetical headlines are shown. Amid headlines including “Economy booms!” and “Border is closed,” one mentions the creation of a “unified reich.”
No direct reference to Nazis is made in the clip, but the word “reich” is commonly used in reference to the Third Reich of Nazi Germany. Other references in the video, which appeared to have multiple copy-and-pasted chunks of text to fill out the “newspaper” background, mention World War I. The “unified reich” headline appears to reference the 1871 unification of Germany.
As Biden ramped up the campaign rhetoric, he accused Trump of still being obsessed over his 2020 loss. “It unhinged him,” the president said in Boston. “The guy’s a little unhinged.”
In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the post had no official backing and that the “reich” reference was unintentional. “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,” she said.
Trump didn’t respond to shouted questions about the video as he attended his historic criminal trial in New York.
The post comes as Trump has repeatedly sought to portray Biden as failing to curb anti-Semitism in the United States during a period of rising tensions fueled by the war in Gaza. But Trump himself has repeatedly used rhetoric that carries clear echoes of Nazi ideology, including describing domestic opponents as “vermin” and immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of the United States.
While president, Trump in 2017 said some neo-Nazi marchers during violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia – who had chanted “Jews will not replace us” – were “very fine people,” and he has dined with white nationalists at his Florida estate.
Trump has a long history of anti-Semitic behavior, the Biden campaign said Monday. “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,'” spokesperson James Singer said.
Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil.
Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois
Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil.
Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil.
Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur, téléphone ou tablette).
Comment ne plus voir ce message ?
En cliquant sur « » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte.
Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici ?
Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil. Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte.
Y a-t-il d’autres limites ?
Non. Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez, mais en les utilisant à des moments différents.
Vous ignorez qui est l’autre personne ?
Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe.
Lecture restreinte
Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article
Pour plus d’informations, merci de contacter notre service commercial.
Subscribe to help support the work of our entire newsroom.
You have opted while browsing our website, including personalized advertising cookies.
The content of this website is the work of over 530 journalists who deliver high-quality, reliable and comprehensive news and innovative online services every day. This work is supported by additional revenue from advertising and subscriptions.
Already a subscriber ?
Subscription
Le Monde in English
Follow Le Monde