Donald Trump has taken down a video posted to his Truth Social account that included reference to a "unified Reich" after President Joe Biden's campaign and others criticised the use of language often associated with the Nazi regime.
The 30-second video, which was posted yesterday afternoon, was no longer available on the website by early this morning. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the post had been removed from the site.
The video portrayed a positive vision for the country should the Republican presidential candidate defeat Mr Biden in November, featuring hypothetical newspaper headlines about a booming economy and a crackdown on immigration at the southern border.
At two points in the video, text below a larger headline reads: "INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED... DRIVEN BY THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED REICH."
The text is somewhat blurred, making it difficult to make out at first glance.
Mr Trump has made a series of inflammatory remarks on the campaign trail, calling political enemies "vermin" and saying immigrants who entered the nation illegally were "poisoning the blood of our country".
Those drew heavy criticism from Democrats and some historians who said they echoed Nazi rhetoric.
Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said in a statement yesterday that the video was created by someone outside the campaign and shared by a staffer who did not notice the use of the word "Reich" before posting.
She said Mr Trump, who is facing a criminal trial in New York over a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, was in court at the time. He did not answer a question about the video shouted by a reporter as he headed into court today.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Biden's campaign criticised the use of a word often associated with Nazi Germany's Third Reich under Adolf Hitler.
"America, stop scrolling and pay attention. 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,'" Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said.
