Accepts remarks were inappropriate

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has apologised for making an “inappropriate and insensitive” comparison to the Holocaust in comments about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons remarks that drew instant rebuke from Jewish groups and critics.

Mr. Spicer said that he was trying to make a point about Assad’s use of chemical weapons and gas against his people Tuesday but “mistakenly made an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, for which there is no comparison. And for that I apologize. It was a mistake to do that.”

During the daily White House briefing, Mr. Spicer had said that Adolf Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” Critics noted the remark ignored Hitler’s use of gas chambers to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.

Second gaffe

It was the second day in a row in which Mr. Spicer, President Donald Trump’s principal spokesman, appeared to struggle to articulate the President’s foreign policy at a critical time. Mr. Spicer said his comments did not reflect Trump’s views.