Video shown at a recent Donald Trump rally in Miami is drawing criticism. According to the New York Times, a video was shown prior to a press conference that shows Trump “shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting members of the news media and his political opponents.”
The video was quickly denounced by event organizers and was described as being part of a meme exhibit.
“Content was submitted by third parties and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference in any official capacity,” said the organizer, Alex Phillips. “American Priority rejects all political violence and aims to promote a healthy dialogue about the preservation of free speech. This matter is under review.”
Donald Trump Jr. and former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed that they were unaware the video was shown prior to the event.
“I was there to speak at a prayer breakfast, where I spoke about unity and bringing the country together,” Sanders said. “I wasn’t aware of any video, nor do I support violence of any kind against anyone.”
Current press secretary Stephanie Grisham shared a statement on social media on behalf of the White House early Monday morning.
“Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video,” Grisham wrote.
The bizarre video was first uploaded to YouTube in September 2018 under the name “Trump Kills Fake News (Church of Fake News).” It continues to be available to view online if you’re into that kind of thing with more than 58,000 views at the time of this reading.
The playing of the violent imagery is obviously concerning and echoes the anti-media sentiment that Trump often voices at his rallies. Let’s just hope this doesn’t encourage anyone to take things a step too far.