UPDATE: Douthat has apologized and deleted the original tweet. A screenshot of the tweet appears below.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat caused outrage after he joked about how an assassination attempt could end Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

"Good news guys I've figured out how the Trump campaign ends," Douthat tweeted last night.

The tweet links to a video clip from the 1983 movie The Dead Zone, which features a character played by Christopher Walken attempting to gun down a political figure played by Martin Sheen.

In the plot, Walken's character tries to kill the US Senatorial candidate (played by Sheen) because he has visions of him becoming president in the future and starting a nuclear war. Sheen's character holds up a baby as a human shield during the assassination attempt, destroying his credibility.