Biden campaign accuses Trump of ‘echoing Nazi Germany’ with video referencing creation of ‘unified reich’ – live – The Guardian US
White House denounces Nazi content after video appeared on Trump’s Truth Social account that included the phrase ‘unified reich’
The White House has issued a denunciation of Nazi content after a video Donald Trump shared on social media included the phrase “unified reich”.
While noting that federal law prohibits him from commenting on the 2024 election, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said: “It is abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for anyone to promote content associated with Germany’s Nazi government under Adolf Hitler.”
And in case there was any doubt about who he was referring to, Bates added that, “Just as it is disgraceful to dine with neo-Nazis, or to say there were ‘very fine people on both sides’ after Charlottesville, or to falsely claim that Hitler ‘did some good things.’” Those are all things Trump has done or said.
“Any Antisemitic dog whistling is dangerous and offensive – and profoundly un-American,” Bates said.
The Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, is planning to hold a vote on Thursday on the Border Act, which would tighten US immigration policies in a bid to stem the flow of migrants entering over the southern border:
Moments ago, @SenSchumer FILED CLOTURE on the Motion to Proceed to S. 3461, the bipartisan Border Act, setting up a Senate floor vote on Thursday.
The Republican leaders of the House of Representatives have vowed that the bill is “dead on arrival”. They are demanding Democrats support their own hardline legislation to restart Donald Trump’s immigration policies, including construction of a wall on the southern border, and the “remain in Mexico” policy that forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are considered.
The Border Act also has detractors on the left, who worry its strict policies would undermine America’s humanitarian obligations. Schumer’s bid for passage in the Senate is largely seen as a way to provide cover to vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election in November who are facing concerns from their constituents over migrant arrivals.
Back in Washington DC, Donald Trump’s allies are seeking passage of legislation to bar non-citizens from voting in federal elections – which is illegal already. If you are wondering why they are bothering with it, the Guardian’s Peter Stone has the answer:
Dozens of Donald Trump’s allies and election denialists, including extremists like lawyer Cleta Mitchell and ex-adviser Stephen Miller, are promoting a bill to bar non-citizens from voting in federal elections, even though it’s already illegal and evidence that non-citizens have voted in federal races is almost nil.
The push for the bill is seen as further evidence of extremist tactics used by ex-president Trump and his Maga movement to rev up his base of supporters for the 2024 election with outlandish claims designed to scaremonger over election fraud and far-right rhetoric detached from reality.
It also fits a pattern, that many Trump allies appear to be laying the groundwork for false complaints of election fraud should Trump suffer electoral defeat again in 2024 – raising fears that the US could see a civic crisis similar to what followed the 2020 contest when his allies attacked the Capitol in Washington DC.
The legislation’s rationale, which Trump touted at a Mar-a-Lago event with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, last month, has drawn sharp criticism from voting experts and even some Republicans.
Donald Trump’s trial in New York City on business fraud charges is heading towards its conclusion, with the final defense witness on the stand right now.
The former president appears unlikely to testify, but arguments have not yet concluded. Follow our live blog for the latest from inside the courtroom:
This is not the first time that Donald Trump’s rhetoric has strayed towards territory once used by Adolf Hitler and his ilk.
A book about Trump’s presidency released two years ago reported that he had asked his White House chief of staff, retired Marine corps general John Kelly: “Why can’t you be like the German generals?” When Kelly asked what he meant, Trump replied: “The German generals in World War II.” Those would be Nazis.
Trump was apparently fond of making such remarks to Kelly, who served as his top White House aide from 2017 to 2019, because a different book released in 2022 reported that Trump told Kelly: “Well, Hitler did a lot of good things.”
Joe Biden has attempted to make the connection between Trump’s rhetoric and what the Nazis once used explicit, particularly after he last year said he would “root out” people who “live like vermin” in the United States:
In a statement to the Associated Press, Donald Trump’s campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, blamed the posting of a video that included the word “unified reich” on a third party, and a mix-up by a staffer:
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.
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The Biden campaign is on the offensive against Donald Trump after a video appeared on his Truth Social account that included the words “unified reich”. The text appears in the background of a 30-second clip that makes staple Trump campaign promises, such as closing the border and mass deportations, and it may have been lifted from Wikipedia, the Associated Press reports. But Joe Biden’s re-election operation insists that the video, which was posted during a lunch break in his business fraud trial in New York and remains online, is further proof of the ex-president’s dictatorial intent if he is returned to the White House. “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,’” Biden-Harris campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement last night.
Trump posts a new ad foreshadowing a second Trump term that says he will create a “UNIFIED REICH,” echoing Nazi Germany pic.twitter.com/z4ZmMSWuRH
The president is looking for an edge over Trump as he contends with polls that continue to show him trailing his predecessor in crucial swing states. We’ll see if this makes a difference.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Biden is scheduled for a lengthy day of campaigning, with a speech set at 1.30pm ET in Nashua, New Hampshire, on legislation that expands healthcare to veterans exposed to toxins, followed by two campaign receptions in Boston in the evening.
It is primary day in a bunch of states, including Georgia, where Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who is prosecuting Trump and others for election fraud, faces Democratic voters.
The Senate will vote on Thursday on legislation to tighten immigration policy, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer announced yesterday, but the measure is certain to go nowhere in the Republican-led House of Representatives.