Trump removes video with 'unified reich' Nazi references

Former President Donald Trump removed a video Tuesday that suggested the US would see a "unified Reich" if he wins the presidential election in November.

The video, which he posted to his proprietary social media website, Truth Social, prompted widespread backlash on social media after Trump posted it Monday.

The 30-second video features a series of faux newspaper clippings from the hypothetical day after Trump secures reelection, including blurred text blurbs referring to supposed domestic boons "driven by the creation of a unified Reich."

"Reich" is a German word meaning "realm," or "empire," that was made infamous by Adolf Hitler who referred to his Nazi state as the "Third Reich."

Trump did not say why he removed the video, but President Joe Biden's reelection campaign was quick to pounce, saying in an email to supporters, "It's not like Trump's echoes of Nazi Germany are a one-time thing."

"He calls his political opponents 'vermin,' he talks about the blood of America being poisoned, and he says he wants to be a dictator on 'day one.' Trump is trying to take America to a very dark place," it said.

The Trump campaign reportedly blamed the video's posting on 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," Karoline Leavitt, a campaign spokeswoman, said in a statement, according to the New York Times. "The real extremist is Joe Biden."