Video of fake Trump shooting critics shown at conference held at his Miami resort

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

last updated 14 October 2019

During a three-day conference held by the pro-Trump group American Priority last week, a video was shown depicting a fake President Trump gunning down, stabbing, and assaulting members of the media and political rivals, The New York Times reports.

The conference was held at Trump National Doral Miami, and the footage was recorded by an attendee, who passed it along to the Times through an intermediary. In the video, Trump's head is superimposed on the body of a man who enters the "Church of Fake News," where the faces of parishioners are covered up by media outlet logos and the heads of political opponents like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The fake Trump shoots and stabs people in the head, lights them on fire, and knocks them down, the Times reports. Parts of the video appeared on YouTube last year, and the conference's organizer, Alex Phillips, told the Times the clip was played as part of an exhibit on memes. "Content was submitted by third parties and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference in any official capacity," he said. "American Priority rejects all political violence and aims to promote a healthy dialogue about the preservation of free speech. This matter is under review."

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The conference was attended by Donald Trump Jr., former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Sanders told the Times she didn't know anything about the video, and a person close to Trump Jr. said he also didn't see it. President Trump routinely calls the media the enemy of the people and describes any news that is even remotely critical as being fake; in 2017, he tweeted a video of a wrestler body slamming the CNN logo.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.