‘The president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust,’ White House says

Responding to criticism over a statement President Donald Trump made on Holocaust Remembrance Day omitting the mention of Jews, White House press secretary says the Jewish people have no better friend.

“He’s aware of what people have been saying. But I think, by and large, he’s been praised for it. I think the president recognized the tremendous loss of life that came from the Holocaust, but I think with respect to, you know, Israel and the Jewish people specifically, there’s been no better friend than Donald Trump when it comes to protecting Israel, building a better friendship with Israel,” Spicer says.

“You look at what Prime Minister Netanyahu’s talked about. He welcomes this administration. He appreciates the friendship and respect that he has shown to Israel and to the Jewish people.”

Administration officials have said they were intending to highlight the fact that the Nazis had many victims, not just Jews, and that they had “no regrets” about the formulation.

“I gotta be honest,” Spicer says, “I mean, the president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust and the suffering that went through it and the people that were affected by it and the loss of life, and to make sure that America never forgets what so many people through, whether they were Jews or gypsies, gays, disability, priests.”