The Dangerous Fascist Symbolism In Trump's "Unified Reich" Video
The Dangerous Fascist Symbolism In Trump's "Unified Reich" Video
Donald Trump’s "Unified Reich" video isn't just a slip—it’s part of an ominous pattern of Trump praising, echoing, and emulating fascist dictators.
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On Monday, Donald Trump shared a video on Truth Social that asked, “What happens after Donald Trump wins?” The video proceeded to show a series of fake news headlines. One of them asked, “What’s next for America?” The subtitle read: “STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BY THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED REICH.”
This rightfully sparked boisterous backlash, causing people to call out this clear tribute to Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler’s regime, known as the Third Reich.
President Biden drew this connection to Hitler in a reaction video posted on social media. In the clip, Biden watched the Truth Social video and responded, “Is this on his official account? Wow. A Unified Reich? That’s Hitler’s language, not America’s.”
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates responded in a statement highlighting the Hitler reference: “It is abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for anyone to promote content associated with Germany’s Nazi government under Adolf Hitler.”
Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer was more forceful and direct: “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.’”
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans dodged CNN reporter Manu Raju’s questions about the “Unified Reich” video. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) responded by saying, “I don’t know. See, I don’t follow. In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is falling apart.” Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Tim Scott (R-SC) refused to answer or condemn the use of the “Unified Reich” language and seemingly ran away from the question down the Senate hall.
After a day of outrage, the Trump Campaign deleted the video and denied any knowledge of the use of “Unified Reich.” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt explained, “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.”
Whether or not the staffer saw the term “Unified Reich,” this fits a pattern of Donald Trump praising, echoing, and emulating Hitler and other fascist dictators. Symbolism is important in authoritarian movements, so we shouldn’t dismiss any of this as a coincidence. Trump’s Campaign can claim this promise of a “Unified Reich” in a second Trump term was unintentional, but we all have eyes and ears.
As I’ve written before, Trump has consistently made an effort to normalize fascist rhetoric. Trump has echoed Hitler, claiming immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” calling his enemies “vermin,” and dehumanizing migrants as “animals.”
This rhetoric not only reads like it’s straight from a white supremacist terrorist’s manifesto, it literally is. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote: “All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning.” Hitler was talking about Jewish people and other groups he targeted as “undesirable.”
National Biden Campaign Co-Chair Mitch Landrieu discussed this pattern of behavior on MSNBC: “This statement that the ex-president made, as I’ve said, is part of a pattern. He was in favor of keeping up the Confederate monuments… He talked about, in Charlottesville there being both sides to that issue. This is a tip of the hat to white supremacy and white nationalism, which is, unfortunately, a very important part of the ex-president’s base. Which goes to show you what in the world he’s gonna do if he gets elected again.”
That’s exactly right. It’s not just authoritarian rhetoric. Trump has dangerous authoritarian plans.
Trump has said he will be a dictator on day one and promises he’ll imprison his political opponents. He’s repeated this multiple times, all while promising to detain millions of immigrants in camps, implement ideological screenings, and expand on his previous administration’s Muslim ban.
Trump, along with his allies at Project 2025, have devised an authoritarian plot to replace tens of thousands of federal workers with trained GOP loyalists, dismantle federal agencies, turn the federal government into a tool of the far-right, and implement their extremist agenda. That is overt authoritarianism.
That agenda includes the centralization of power in the executive branch, anti-abortion measures, rolling back environmental regulations, immigration crackdowns, ending federal protections for LGBTQ+ people, pushing “Christian Nationalist” ideals, and undoing all progress made in diversity, equity, and inclusion within the federal government under the guise of religious freedom.
I’ve written extensively about this, discussed it on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, and did a deep dive on the Meidas Touch Network with PoliticsGirl. Trump is on board with much of Project 2025, and it aligns with his Agenda 47.
In comments to donors in Boston, Biden reiterated his condemnation of Trump’s “Unified Reich” repost and put a spotlight on the threat of a second Trump term. “That’s not the language of any Americans. It’s the language of Hitler’s Germany,” Biden told the campaign reception. “The threat that Trump poses is greater in the second term than it was in the first,” Biden added.
There’s a reason I’m always ringing the alarm about Project 2025 and Trump’s authoritarian plans. Polling indicates that Americans are ridiculously underinformed about what’s at stake. The threat of a second Trump term is existential.
I know it sounds alarmist to some, but it’s not hyperbole. Trump’s first term proved the alleged “alarmists” right. A second Trump term would be ten times worse. He’s more prepared. He has what Project 2025 calls an “army” of trained loyalists waiting to be installed. He has a clear playbook to turn his authoritarian ravings into reality. The threat is real. We have to inform as many people as possible.