As yesterday got underway, there were a variety of messages the White House was eager to push, though those plans were put on hold when another story came to the fore: Donald Trump’s account on his social media platform promoted a video referencing a “unified Reich” that would emerge if the former president were to win a second term.

Given that the video — which was eventually taken down — came against a backdrop in which Trump has recently used Hitler-like rhetoric while talking up his vision of a temporary American “dictatorship,” it was a difficult message to ignore.

As Politico reported, the story did not escape President Joe Biden’s attention.

In a pair of Boston fundraisers on Tuesday, Biden went off on Trump after the Republican’s campaign shared and later deleted a video that included a phrase — “unified Reich” — that nodded to Nazi Germany. “It is not the first time Trump has gone down this road,” Biden said at his final event of the night, a more than 300-person fundraiser in Boston’s Seaport district. “Folks, it can’t be any clearer. The threat Trump poses is greater the second time around than it was the first.”

Those comments came after the Democratic incumbent released a video of his own via social media slamming the Trump-promoted “Reich” video.

“He only cares about holding on to power,” Biden said of the presumptive Republican nominee. “I care about you.” Vice President Kamala Harris pushed a related line during a public event of her own yesterday.

But as the day progressed, I found myself wondering how — and whether — GOP officials would respond to the story.

Throughout Trump’s term, there was an exasperating process in which reporters would ask members of Congress for their reactions to the latest Trump outrage; they’d pretend to have no idea what the then-president had said or done; and everyone would just roll their eyes at the theatrics. There was, to be sure, plenty of that yesterday, with Republican lawmakers pleading ignorance.

There were, however, some limited exceptions. Politico also reported:

“I don’t know why you would say such a thing,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a staunch Trump ally. … He wasn’t alone. “To use that term in this day and age is simply inappropriate, and it’s got to be corrected,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).

For his part, I kept waiting for Trump to present some kind of defense. To date, he has not.

That said, Election Day 2024 is still six months away, and it’s likely he’ll be asked about this between now and when voters start casting ballots.