Former U.S. President Donald Trump came under scrutiny for using the term ‘reich,’ reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s ‘Third Reich,’ in a campaign video. U.S. President Joe Biden, who will face Trump again in the upcoming November presidential election, criticized Trump for using the language of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
According to the New York Times (NYT) and others on the 21st (local time), Trump posted a 30-second video on the social networking service Truth Social the previous afternoon under the theme, “What will happen if Donald Trump wins? What’s next for Americans?”
The video, styled as a fictional newspaper article titled “Trump Wins,” included several articles in the style of the early 1900s. Specifically, it contained content about an economic boom following his victory, a significant increase in industrial competitiveness due to the birth of a “unified empire,” and plans to deport 15 million immigrants during his second term.
The controversial part was the phrase “unified empire” expressed as “unified reich.” While “reich” is a German word meaning empire, it is commonly associated with Nazi Germany’s Third Reich. Despite the availability of other words with the same meaning, the term used by the Nazis was deliberately chosen. The NYT pointed out, “The video repeated mentions of the founding of a unified empire three times,” adding, “It appears to recycle text from World War I reports. The subtitles list the start and end dates of World War I.”
The Biden administration criticized Trump for mimicking Nazi Germany. During a campaign event in Boston, Massachusetts, President Biden said, “He is someone who uses Hitler’s language, not America’s,” and noted, “Just over four months ago, he said, ‘Hitler did some good things.’” Vice President Kamala Harris also criticized, saying, “A former president who praises a dictator highlighted the language of Nazi Germany,” adding, “It’s not surprising, but it’s terrible.” James Singer, a spokesperson for Biden’s campaign, pointed out, “If he regains power, he is clearly stating his intention to rule like a dictator over a ‘unified empire.’”
Trump’s campaign issued a statement saying, “This video was not made by the campaign,” explaining, “An employee posted the video created by an arbitrary online account while Trump was in court.” They also said, “The employee did not see the problematic word,” and countered, “The real extremist is Joe Biden.”
However, local media reported that the video was posted just before Trump returned to court after finishing lunch in New York the previous day. The video was deleted only on the same day. The NYT also added that the video was not immediately removed after the controversy and that the Trump campaign did not respond to why it was not deleted at the time.
Earlier, Trump faced criticism for comparing immigrants to pests while discussing a tough stance on illegal immigration at the end of last year, a claim similar to the Nazi regime’s policy of exterminating Jews. In 2022, he was embroiled in controversy for hosting a dinner at his home with individuals who made anti-Semitic remarks.
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign announced legal action after the film “Apprentice,” depicting Trump’s younger years, was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, claimed the film was “a sensationalized fiction of long-debunked lies” and “malicious defamation.” The film, which covers Trump’s efforts to become a real estate mogul in New York during the 1970s and 1980s, includes scenes of forced sexual relations with his wife, liposuction procedures for appearance management, and attempts to treat hair loss. The production team is pushing for the film’s release before the U.S. presidential election in November but has yet to find a U.S. distributor.
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