White House condemns film of president slaying media
THE White House has condemned a video depicting a fake Donald Trump slaughtering political rivals and media groups which was shown at a conference for his supporters.
The footage, a doctored version of a scene in the 2014 spy comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, showed a man with Mr Trump’s face superimposed shooting and stabbing a crowd of people.
His victims had logos of newspapers and broadcasters, such as CNN and The Washington Post, as well as the president’s prominent political rivals.
The video was played during a threeday event at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course last week organised by the group American Priority, which is supportive of Mr Trump.
Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said the organisation was “horrified” by the video.
Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said yesterday that Mr Trump had not seen the clip but that, “based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video”. She said he would watch it “shortly”.
Alex Phillips, an organiser with the American Priority event, said the video had not been sanctioned or approved for use and was shown in a “side room” at the conference. She added that the gathering “has and always will condemn political violence”.
The two-minute clip altered original film footage showing a man fighting his way out of a church. In this version, the location is dubbed the “Church of Fake News”.