Susan Walsh/AP
White House press secretary Sean Spicer attempted to compare Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad to Adolf Hitler on Tuesday, arguing—incorrectly—that unlike Assad, Hitler never used chemical weapons during World War II. When a reporter gave Spicer a chance to clarify his remarks, Spicer followed up with an explanation that was arguably even more problematic.
“You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” Spicer said in response to a question about Russia’s ongoing support for the Assad regime.
Spicer on Syria: “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons…” pic.twitter.com/UN3JfRRg0w
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
When a reporter asked Spicer what he meant by this comment, Spicer explained that Hitler “was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing.” Apparently referring to Nazi death camps, Spicer acknowledged that Hitler “brought them into the Holocaust Center, I understand that.”
Spicer, trying to clarify his Hitler answer—makes it worse: “He was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing” pic.twitter.com/SSA1P680z5
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
Reporters and pundits on Twitter quickly pointed out that Hitler justified the Holocaust in part by claiming that German Jews were not really Germans.
Nearly 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust from systemic murder that included the use of gas and shooting, as well as starvation and disease. This included between 160,000 to 180,000 German Jews. The Third Reich also targeted non-Jewish Germans it deemed “unworthy of life,” including people with mental and physical disabilities. These were among the first victim’s of Hitler’s use of poison gas beginning in 1939.
On MSNBC, the chyron fact-checking Spicer’s comments was particularly stunning.
Thank God for fact checking. pic.twitter.com/7V5IjHlW9s
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 11, 2017
After his briefing, Spicer sent out a second clarification, followed by a third:
WH just sent out an updated clarification from Spicer, changing “innocent people” to “population centers” at the end.
via @HallieJackson pic.twitter.com/A3k9W75ztt
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
And then a fourth:
.@HallieJackson From the print pool, what appears to be a 4th Hitler clarification from Spicer, which adds a sentence at the end not there previously pic.twitter.com/lxZDJb2rwt
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
