According to White House press secretary Sean Spicer, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is worse than Hitler. Many people feel that Spicer belittled the magnitude of the Jewish Holocaust through his comments.
A report from the New York Times indicates that at a press conference earlier today, the 45-year-old New Yorker, in an attempt to convey just how cruel he felt Assad of Syria was, suggested Hitler, the former dictator of Nazi Germany, "didn't even sink to using chemical weapons." Not only was Spicer wrong - Hitler and his Nazi regime literally gassed hundreds of thousands of Jews, and killed millions more in other ways- but his inaccuracy proved to be incredibly insensitive and crass.
Instead of catching his terrible mistake and attempting to clear things up right away, however, Spicer continued spewing insensitivities - even referring to former Nazi concentration camps as nothing more than "Holocaust centers." As he spoke, sources indicate those attending the press conference were visibly disturbed.
The press secretary got some information horribly wrong in an attempt to chastise the Russian alliance with Syria
A historian from the prestigious Emory University in Atlanta stated simply that Spicer's comments were "just wrong." She added that he "should not be making comparisons," and that, at worst, his remarks showed an extreme hostility towards Jews. In making these seemingly anti-Semitic comments, Spicer was attempting to reprimand Russia for its ties to a Syrian country that recently employed the use of sarin gas on an area in the Idlib Province that killed several- including many children.
Spicer indicated that Russia needed to ask itself if being aligned with a country that had the capacity to kill babies without a second thought was a morally sound idea. By the statement, the press secretary may have been tugging at the fiercely Orthodox Christian mindset a large portion of the Russian populace is known for.
Spicer later tried to retrace his steps and apologize
In an apology the White House official issued later, he attempted to redefine his earlier statements, and justify using such insensitive dialogue. "I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centers," he said according to a New York Times report.
He later added that he thought any attack on innocent people was both "reprehensible and inexcusable." Spicer later made his way to CNN, where he apologized again, this time claiming that he shouldn't have tried to make a comparison that was never really there.
Critics want Spicer's resignation
Nonetheless, many critics of both Mr. Spicer and the Trump administration as a whole indicated the only way such vile statements would truly be forgiven was if the press secretary were to be removed from his position. Among those calling for his resignation was the always outspoken Democratic representative Nancy Pelosi of California.
Seemingly no stranger to misinformation in his oratory, Spicer has already gained a rather negative reputation for making insensitive or incorrect comments since taking the position as Trump's press secretary in late January.
