A group of Donald Trump supporters are making it explicitly clear how they feel about his detractors. In a fake, but gruesome video, obtained by The New York Times, the Commander-in-Chief can be seen brutally assaulting, stabbing, and opening fire on his political opponents and news journalists inside of a church. This includes President Barack Obama, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and the Black Lives Matter movement. According to reports, the video was shown last week at a pro-Trump conference for supporters in Miami.
In attendance at the conference were his son Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and other top Trump surrogates. Teams for Trump Jr. and Sanders deny that they knew anything about the video that contained a logo for the Trump 2020 re-election campaign and a mashup of memes from the internet. The Times says the video was taken by a person who attended the pro-Trump conference and captured a video of the clip on his cellphone.
“Content was submitted by third parties and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference in any official capacity,” claimed the organizer, Alex Phillips in an interview with The Times. “American Priority rejects all political violence and aims to promote a healthy dialogue about the preservation of free speech. This matter is under review.”
In the pro-Trump video, a fake Trump acts as a gunman who enters into the “Church of Fake News.” Members of the congregation aren’t people, but instead, his known adversaries. As they try to escape, the fake Trump can be seen shooting Black Lives Matter in the head, striking Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and hitting former President Barack Obama in the head before throwing him against a wall. A slew of journalists and other politicians were also caught in the throes of his violence.
Tim Murtaugh, the director of communications for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign told The Times, “That video was not produced by the campaign, and we do not condone violence.”
UPDATE: The Washington Post reports that Trump has not seen the video, but according to the White House, based on what he’s heard of the fake depiction that has called to mind other violent memes that he has retweeted to his Twitter account, he “strongly condemns” it.