Washington, D.C. - White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made one of the worst gaffes of 2017 so far at Tuesday’s press briefing when he dared to compare Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons attack to Adolf Hitler’s Holocaust.
“You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” Spicer told a shocked press corps.
His gaffe quickly became the top trend on Twitter, and Spicer was forced to issue a clarification and an apology over his misstatement, but not before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and The Anne Frank Center called for President Trump to fire him.
Ari Fleischer, who served as George W. Bush’s press secretary from 2001 to 2003, really feels for the guy.
“Poor Sean,” Fleischer said twice at the “President and the Press” event at the Newseum Wednesday.
Fleischer took part in a conversation with former Obama communications director Jennifer Palmieri where they both revealed what it’s like to be the president's microphone. Fleischer admitted he too made his share of misstatements at the podium.
Fleischer, who is a Jewish American, got a bit more personal on CNN, explaining why he, for one, accepts Spicer's apology.
.@AriFleischer: I wish Sean had never said what he said, but he did apologize and I accept that apology https://t.co/xDNP6Oiqk6
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) April 12, 2017