Trump spokesman sparks outcry by comparing Assad to Hitler

[webfact]

Trump spokesman sparks outcry by comparing Assad to Hitler

By Ayesha Rascoe

REUTERS

 

White House Press Secretary SeanSpicer speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House spokesman SeanSpicer triggered an uproar on Tuesday by saying Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons. He apologized after his comments drew immediate criticism on social media and elsewhere for overlooking the fact that millions of Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers.

 

Spicer made the assertion at a daily news briefing, during a discussion about the April 4 chemical weapons attack in Syria that killed 87 people. Washington has blamed the attack on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

"You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons," Spicer said when asked about Russia's alliance with the Syrian government.

 

The Nazis murdered six million Jews during World War Two. Many Jews as well as others were killed in gas chambers in European concentration camps.

 

When a reporter asked Spicer if he wanted to clarify his comments, he said: "I think when you come to sarin gas, there was no, he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing."

 

Later on Tuesday, Spicer apologized and said he should not have made that comparison.

 

"It was a mistake. I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again," Spicer told CNN in an interview. "It was inappropriate and insensitive."

 

Spicer's assertion, made during the Jewish holiday of Passover, sparked instant outrage on social media and from some Holocaust memorial groups who accused him of minimizing Hitler's crimes.

 

    "Sean Spicer now lacks the integrity to serve as White House press secretary, and President Trump must fire him at once," said Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect.

 

Shortly after the White House briefing, Spicer emailed a statement to reporters in response to their queries, but had stopped short of offering an explicit apology.

 

"In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust. I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centers. Any attack on innocent people is reprehensible and inexcusable," Spicer said in the statement.

 

    The U.S. Holocaust Museum did not mention Spicer's comments directly, but sent out a tweet shortly after the briefing that showed graphic footage of dead bodies U.S. forces found while liberating the Buchenwald concentration camp.

 

    The video was retweeted more than a thousand times, with many Twitter users referencing Spicer's comments.

 

U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Republican President Donald Trump to reject Spicer's assertion.

 

"Sean Spicer must be fired, and the President must immediately disavow his spokesman's statements," Pelosi said in a statement.

 

The White House did not immediately respond when asked to comment on Pelosi's statement.

 

It was not the first time the White House has had to answer questions about the Holocaust. Critics in January noted the administration's statement marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which omitted any mention of Jewish victims.

 

At the time, Spicer defended that statement by saying it had been written in part by a Jewish staff member whose family members had survived the Holocaust.

 

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Caren Bohan and Tiffany Wu)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-12

[Salerno]

Now where have I heard this kinda thing before? Propaganda 101 http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/Bush-Says-Saddam-Even-Worse-Than-Hitler/id-c456d72625fba6c742d17f1699b18a16

[Cats4ever]

I am not an apologist for this word strangling practitioner but, - he was comparing the use of gas on the battlefield, including civilian targets when he mentioned that even Hitler did not do what Assad had done. The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use rather than a military use. I am not diminishing the seriousness of it. I suspect that Mumbles Spice was not thinking broadly when he made the claim. Assad and the aforementioned dictator are both beyond the pale.

[smotherb]

5 minutes ago, Cats4ever said:

I am not an apologist for this word strangling practitioner but, - he was comparing the use of gas on the battlefield, including civilian targets when he mentioned that even Hitler did not do what Assad had done. The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use rather than a military use. I am not diminishing the seriousness of it. I suspect that Mumbles Spice was not thinking broadly when he made the claim. Assad and the aforementioned dictator are both beyond the pale.

I really feel for Spicer, can you imagine having to defend Trumpisms?

 

 

[Langsuan Man]

[darksidedog]

As if it were needed, more proof that Spicer is a complete and utter idiot. Such an embarrassment to have such a retard as the White House spokesman.

[chilli42]

3 hours ago, Cats4ever said:

I am not an apologist for this word strangling practitioner but, - he was comparing the use of gas on the battlefield, including civilian targets when he mentioned that even Hitler did not do what Assad had done. The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use rather than a military use. I am not diminishing the seriousness of it. I suspect that Mumbles Spice was not thinking broadly when he made the claim. Assad and the aforementioned dictator are both beyond the pale.

You are right, he was not thinking at all.  What a stupid thing for a US political person to say. 

[joecoolfrog]

Godwins law !

 

 

 

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

"It was a mistake. I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again," Spicer told CNN in an interview. "It was inappropriate and insensitive."

I think the next 3 years and 9 months look rather dim for this guys future. How many times can he put his foot in his mouth. 

[mtls2005]

It was obvious to almost anyone with a shred of intelligence that the Spice Hole was in way over his head from day one, when he lost it on crowd size.

 

All he has to do is listen to the question and then just answer the question. But he is "performing" for just one person, and in his zeal to please the boss he goes way off script.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2017 by mtls2005

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

As if it were needed, more proof that Spicer is a complete and utter idiot. Such an embarrassment to have such a retard as the White House spokesman.

Their everywhere their everywhere. 

[dunroaming]

I think that Spicer fits in perfectly with Trump's gang.  Better to not refer to Mr Spicer by his initials though.  SS might conjure up other images.  The circus rolls on and on...

[mtls2005]

Jmmy Kimmel's take, (I think that's Patton Oswald doing Spicey's internal voice).

 

 

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.  

[Srikcir]

On 4/12/2017 at 8:48 AM, Cats4ever said:

The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use

I liked but disagree with "penal" use.

Hitler's murder was driven by ideology - purity of the Aryan so-called race. To that end he used anti-Jewish legislation to isolate and identify Jews. But their mass murder was not the result of any criminal prosecution process (aka rule of law) and in fact kept largely secret from the general German public.

[smotherb]

On 4/12/2017 at 10:21 AM, darksidedog said:

As if it were needed, more proof that Spicer is a complete and utter idiot. Such an embarrassment to have such a retard as the White House spokesman.

You may be too hard on Spicer; after all he has to defend the indefensible 

[selftaopath]

All the liars in this administration diminishes America. The "Reds" cry a/b morals etc. but they look the other way re: The Liar in Chief and his defenders. 

[smotherb]

On 4/12/2017 at 2:44 PM, elgordo38 said:

I think the next 3 years and 9 months look rather dim for this guys future. How many times can he put his foot in his mouth. 

He probably has already cornered the record.

[Jingthing]

On 4/12/2017 at 8:48 AM, Cats4ever said:

I am not an apologist for this word strangling practitioner but, - he was comparing the use of gas on the battlefield, including civilian targets when he mentioned that even Hitler did not do what Assad had done. The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use rather than a military use. I am not diminishing the seriousness of it. I suspect that Mumbles Spice was not thinking broadly when he made the claim. Assad and the aforementioned dictator are both beyond the pale.

Incredibly offensive to call it penal use. It was genocide use. 

[baboon]

On 12/04/2017 at 8:48 AM, Cats4ever said:

I am not an apologist for this word strangling practitioner but, - he was comparing the use of gas on the battlefield, including civilian targets when he mentioned that even Hitler did not do what Assad had done. The use of gas to murder millions of concentration camp inmates was a penal use rather than a military use. I am not diminishing the seriousness of it. I suspect that Mumbles Spice was not thinking broadly when he made the claim. Assad and the aforementioned dictator are both beyond the pale.

Good post. However if I was in a position of power like Trump, I would have to sack him for making me (and the rest of my administration by default) look a complete tit...