Trump draws criticism for sharing video with references to reaching a 'unified Reich'

Former president Donald Trump has drawn renewed criticism after the account on his social media platform shared a video with a reference to a "unified Reich" should he win the November elections.

The video included a series of headlines flashing across the screen, among them "Trump wins!!," "Economy booms!" and the mentioned "Unified Reich."

According to The Associated Press, this appears to be a reference to the formation of the modern German nation, which unified smaller states in the late 19th Century. However, the word Reich is largely associated with Nazi Germany's Third Reich.

Questioned on the video, the Trump campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said: "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." The outlet noted that the video was posted while Trump was on a lunch break from his hush money trial in New York City.

Trump has already been criticized for using language linked with Nazi Germany, including saying that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are "poisoning the blood of our country."

Other video headlines also read "Border Is Closed" and "15 Million Illegal Aliens Deported," a reference to Trump's promise to conduct wide operations to remove millions of undocumented migrants from the country and prevent the thousands who reach the southern border every day from entering.

Trump was also criticized in late March for posting a video on his platform that included images of a truck depicting Joe Biden tied up on its tailgate.

Trump said in the post that the short video was filmed on Long Island on Thursday, day in which he attended the wake of a NYPD officer who was killed during a traffic stop this week. The images showed two trucks with American flags and several signs supporting the Republican presumptive nominee. One of them included the image of a hog-tied Joe Biden.

The Biden campaign quickly condemned the action, with communications director Michael Tyler saying that "Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it's time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6."

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung fired back, saying that the picture of Biden was "on the back of a pick up truck that was traveling down the highway." "Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him," he said, in reference to the numerous legal proceedings Trump is currently facing.