'This is Hitler's language': Biden slams Trump campaign post referencing 'unified Reich'

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden slammed a 30-second video shared to Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on Monday that referenced a “unified reich” while featuring what the former president would do if he won a second term in office.

Trump's video includes a narrator discussing “what’s next for America” with a Republican 2024 victory and presents a series of newspaper headlines and text describing his goals, such as closing the border and creating a booming economy. One piece of text in the since-deleted video said, “Industrial strength significantly increased … driven by the creation of a unified reich.”

Reich refers to a German empire and is associated with Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich under Nazi Germany.

Karoline Leavitt, a Trump spokesperson, said in a statement that the video is not a campaign ad and 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,” referencing Trump’s hush money trial.

But Biden condemned the “unified Reich” reference Tuesday, telling supporters at a campaign fundraiser in Boston, "This is Hitler’s language, not America’s."

He added that “it’s no surprise,” citing past reports that Trump, as president, told his chief of staff that Hitler “did some good things.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, addressing the Service Employees International Union convention in Philadelphia, also seized on the "unified Reich" post.

"The former president of the United States, ? who praises dictators, who said there were very fine people on both sides in Charlottesville, let's not forget ? took to social media and highlighted language from Nazi Germany. This kind of rhetoric is unsurprising coming from the former president, and it is appalling," Harris said.

Sarah Matthews, former Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “Trump’s continued use of Nazi rhetoric is un-American and despicable. Yet too many Americans are brushing off the glaring red flags about what could happen if he returns to the White House.”

Trump had previously drawn backlash after saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and describing his political opponents as “vermin,” reminding many of language used by dictators like Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini.

“Donald Trump is openly copying Hitler’s Nazi language about a 'unified reich' and warning about 'poisoning the blood' of America, and people are still acting like this is a normal election,” Keith Boykin, former White House aide to Bill Clinton and political commentator, wrote on X.

Trump did not respond to a question about the video after speaking with reporters at the New York courthouse where he is on criminal trial in a hush money case.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Hitler's language': President Biden slams Trump campaign post about