Donald Trump Receives Criticism for Posting Controversial Video of Hog-Tied President Biden

Trump Criticized for Posting Video of Hog-Tied Biden on Truck

WASHINGTON (AP) – Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump drew criticism Friday for posting a video on social media that contains the image of a hog-tied President Joe Biden painted on the tailgate of a passing truck.

The Biden Campaign Reacts

The Biden campaign was quick to condemn the video for suggesting physical harm to the sitting Democratic president. Biden has portrayed his likely 2024 opponent as someone who freely evokes Nazi imagery with regard to immigrants. He has also stressed in his speeches that Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 elections ultimately led to an assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, stated, “Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it’s time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6.”

Trump Campaign Spokesman Responds

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded by saying, “That picture was on the back of a pickup truck that was traveling down the highway. Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him.”

U.S. Secret Service Statement

The U.S. Secret Service released a statement saying it “does not confirm or comment on matters of protective intelligence.”

The Video and its Context

The former president, Donald Trump, posted the video on his social media site, Truth Social. According to his caption, the video was taken in Long Island, New York on Thursday, during the wake of a New York City police officer who was killed during a traffic stop. The video shows a passing truck decked out with “Trump 2024” banners and flags claiming support for the police, with the picture of a seemingly helpless Biden with his hands and feet tied, painted on the rear of the vehicle.

The Valuation of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. began trading on the stock market Tuesday, with the valuation adding billions of dollars to his fortune.

Trump’s Messaging and Claims

Seeking a return to the White House, Trump has painted an apocalyptic picture of the country if Biden secures a second term. At a rally in Ohio, he warned, “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole country.” He has also talked about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country,” resembling the rhetoric used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Furthermore, he has described his enemies as “vermin,” which has caused his opponents to accuse him of authoritarian beliefs. Trump has even gone so far as to cast Biden’s handling of the border as “a conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America.”

Previous Contentions involving Trump

In the past, Trump posted a photo on social media of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Last year, before his indictment in New York over hush money paid on his behalf during his 2016 campaign, the former president also made headlines.

Biden’s Fighting Words

In a 2018 speech, Biden discussed lewd comments that Trump had made about women and registered his disgust by suggesting a willingness to physically fight the then-president. He said, “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him,” while also stating that any man who disrespected women was “usually the fattest, ugliest SOB in the room.”