A graphically violent parody video which shows Donald Trump massacring a crowd of journalists and political opponents was shown to a group of his supporters at his Miami resort, it has been reported.
The video, which has since been posted on Twitter, shows a scene from the dark comedy film ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’, doctored to feature Mr Trump’s face superimposed onto the fictitious assassin's body.
In the clip, the US president appears to shoot and stab a congregation of targets including CNN, Politico, Black Lives Matter, the BBC, Hillary Clinton, the late senator John McCain, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama and others inside a “Church of Fake News”.
The New York Times reported on the disturbing video on Sunday, saying it was shown last week at a three-day conference held by a pro-Trump organisation American Priority.
Attendees of the event included former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to The New York Times. The president himself was not there.
Event organiser Alex Phillips said the video was played as part of a "meme exhibit" and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference "in any official capacity."
"American Priority rejects all political violence," he said, adding that his team was looking into how it ended up being played at the event.
Although the clip features Mr Trump’s 2020 logo, a spokesman for his re-election campaign, Tim Murtaugh, insisted he knew nothing about it.
“That video was not produced by the campaign, and we do not condone violence,” he said.
The creators of the horrific parody have not been confirmed, but it is understood to have originally been shared on pro-Trump YouTube channel TheGeekzTeam in July 2018.
The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) is among the high profile groups to denounce the video, saying it should be “condemned by all Americans”.
"The WHCA is horrified by a video reportedly shown over the weekend at a political conference organized by the president’s supporters," the association’s president Jonathan Karl said in a statement.
"All Americans should condemn this depiction of violence directed toward journalists and the president’s political opponents," he added.
"We have previously told the president his rhetoric could incite violence. Now we call on him and everybody associated with this conference to denounce this video and affirm that violence has no place in our society."
Mr Trump has frequently described media outlets reporting on him as the “fake news media” and the “enemy of the people” since his 2016.
Broadcaster CNN responded with its own statement on Sunday, which read: “Sadly, this is not the first time that supporters of the president have promoted violence against the media in a video they apparently find entertaining - but it is by far and away the worst.
“The images depicted are vile and horrific.
“The president and his family, the White House and the Trump campaign need to denounce it immediately in the strongest possible terms.
“Anything less equates to a tacit endorsement of violence and should not be tolerated by anyone.”
The White House has declined to comment.
