Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate said on Sunday that President Donald Trump's proclamation for Holocaust Remembrance Day – a statement that didn't mention Jews specifically as victims – is an example of 'Holocaust denial.'

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Saturday that Trump meant to be 'inclusive' of other groups that suffered and perished under Adolf Hitler's regime.

About 5 million non-Jews died in the Nazi purges, including 1 million Roma Gypsies, 2 million Polish gentiles, and countless gays, Catholic priests, blacks, communists, Jehovah's witnesses, trade unionists, and the physically and mentally disabled.

But Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat insisted on NBC's 'Meet the Press' program that it was 'not a coincidence' Trump's broad statement about the Nazi genocides came on the same day as his executive order limiting visas and immigration benefits to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Hillary Clinton running mate Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday morning that the Trump White House is suffering from 'Holocaust denial' betrayed by its Holocaust Remembrance Day statement

Trump's team defended his statement against complaints that it did not mention Jews – saying it was an intentional move to avoid leaving out other Nazi victims

More than 11 million people died in Nazi genocides, including 6 million Jews – but also millions of Polish gentiles, Roma gypsies, gays, Jehovahs Witnesses, blacks and communists

'The final solution was about the slaughter of Jews. We have to remember this. This is what Holocaust denial is,' Kaine said. 'It's either to deny that it happened or many Holocaust deniers acknowledge, "Oh yeah people were killed. But it was a lot of innocent people. Jews weren't targeted".'

'The fact that they did that and imposed this religious test against Muslims in the executive orders on the same day, this is not a coincidence.'

Kaine blamed White House chief strategist Steve Bannon for the Holocaust statement, claiming he is 'connected with a news organization that traffics in white supremacy and anti-Semitism.'

That was likely a reference to Breitbart.com, which liberal partisans often call anti-Semitic on the basis of opinion columns not written by its reporters.

Bannon himself is a Zionist who White House sources have told DailyMail.com often meets with Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, and was the driving force behind Trump's advocacy for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Kaine (right) also painted Trump as a bigot, saying it was no coincidence that the Holocaust statement came on the same day the Trump administration unveiled its 'extreme vetting' plan that targets people from 7 of the world's 53 Muslim-majority nations

Kaine blamed White House senior strategist Steve Bannon for both the Holocaust statement and the 'extreme vetting' policy, suggesting his former perch at Breitbart News indicates that he's an anti-Semite; he did not provide examples

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told CNN that the 'inclusive' White House was not slighting Jews but equally mourning non-Jewish Nazi victims

Trump's statement Friday said '[i]t is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.'

'Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest.‎ As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.'

'In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world,' Trump's statement concluded.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that the administration wasn't 'white-washing anything' with the statement.

'I think you know that President Trump has dear family members that are Jewish. And there was no harm or ill-will or offense intended by any of that,' he said, adding that 'I don't regret the words.'

'I mean, everyone's suffering in the Holocaust including, obviously, all of the Jewish people affected; and the miserable genocide that occurred is something that we consider to be extraordinarily sad and something that can never be forgotten, and something that if we could wipe it off of the history books we could.'

'But we can't,' Priebus continued. 'And it's terrible. I mean, I don't know what more to tell you.'

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that he had 'no regrets' over the statement's language

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt blasted Trump for leaving Jews out of his statement Friday ...

... but the ADL's tweeted messages left out Jews in favor of the more generic 'victims of the Holocaust,' util later in the day after the organization was critical of the White House

The White House's choice of words – 'innocent people' and 'the perished' – immediately drew fire from Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

The statement 'misses that it was six million Jews who perished, not just 'innocent people,' Greenblatt tweeted, calling it 'puzzling and troubling' that Trump didn't follow the lead of past presidents and mention Jews specifically.

Initially, however, the ADL's tweeted message marking Holocaust Remembrance Day made the same omission.

Over a tableau of 17 people holding signs – some Jews, some gentiles – that message read: 'Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorated on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As we pause to remember the victims of the Holocaust, let us be reminded of our responsibility to one another.'

Later in the day, the organization tweeted a second graphic that read: 'On #HolocaustMemorialDay, we remember the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Nazi Holocaust.'

The World Jewish Congress took issue with the characterization of Trump's message as pointedly anti-Semitic.

Critics slammed the administration for not mentioning Jews or anti-Semitism in its statement; among them was Susan Rice, former president Barack Obama's National Security Advisor

Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed around the world on January 27. Above, wreaths are l aid at the Monument of the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw, Poland

'It does no honor to the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust to play politics with their memory," WJC president Ronald Lauder said in a statement.

'Any fair reading of the White House statement today on the International Holocaust Memorial Day will see it appropriately commemorates the suffering and the heroism that mark that dark chapter in modern history.'

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks hit the same note, telling CNN that 'despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.'

Obama-era National Security Advisor Susan Rice accused Trump's team of 'sickness' for not mentioning Jews or anti-Semitism on Friday.

'What sickness enables a statement on holocaust memorial day that ignores 6 million Jews! Just imagine the response if Pres Obama did that,' she wrote.

In his 2015 statement, Obama said: 'Today, with heavy hearts, we remember the six million Jews and the millions of other victims of Nazi brutality who were murdered during the Holocaust.'

President George W. Bush did not mention Jews specifically but did pay tribute to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, in a 2008 speech.