Biden blasts Trump's "unified Reich" video: "That's Hitler's language"
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A frame from the video with the "Unified Reich" headline. Photo: Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden campaign is hammering former President Trump for reposting a video that referred to "the creation of a unified Reich" — a term associated with Nazi Germany — if he's elected in November.
- A Trump campaign spokesperson said the now-deleted video was "created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word."
Why it matters: Trump has been accused of echoing the language of dictators and fascists throughout the 2024 campaign. President Biden has made it his mission to convince voters that Trump is a threat to democracy.
What they're saying: "A unified Reich? That's Hitler's language. That's not America's," Biden said in a reaction video posted to X Tuesday.
- He doubled down on those comments during a Tuesday evening fundraising event in Boston, Massachusetts. "That's not the language of American presidents. That's not the language of any Americans," Biden said, according to a pool report.
- "When Trump finally took that video down and we got some lame excuses that a staffer did it. And we already know Trump personally controls his social media account, because he brags so much about control. It's not the first time Trump has gone down this road."
- White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement, "It is abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for anyone to promote content associated with Germany's Nazi government under Adolf Hitler."
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called Biden "the real extremist" and accused him of "bowing down to radical antisemites and terrorist sympathizers" in the Democratic Party.
The big picture: This is far from the first time Trump has been forced on the defensive over allegations of antisemitism or authoritarian rhetoric.
- Days after declaring his candidacy in November 2022, Trump dined at Mar-a-Lago with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, who has frequently has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories.
- In November 2023, Trump pledged in a speech to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country."
- The following month, Trump said undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," drawing comparisons to Hitler's words.
Between the lines: Trump supporters repeatedly have accused Democrats and the media of taking the former president out of context, brewing a cycle of growing distrust.
- When Trump vowed not to be a dictator "except for day one," for example, Republicans said his remarks were tongue in cheek.
- And when the Biden campaign attacked Trump for predicting a "bloodbath" if he loses in November, his allies insisted that he was referring to job loss in the auto industry.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from President Biden.
