PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A congressman from Rhode Island is calling for White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to resign after he said Adolf Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons.
Democratic U.S. Rep. David Cicilline says Spicer made “despicable, ignorant remarks” about the Holocaust and Hitler.
Cicilline, who is Jewish, says Spicer should not work in the White House.
Spicer said Tuesday that Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons” in a clumsy comparison to Syria that drew instant rebuke from Jewish groups and critics who noted it ignored Hitler’s use of gas chambers to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.
Spicer was attempting to discuss the horror of the chemical weapons attack last week in Syria, which the Trump administration is blaming on President Bashar Assad.
Spicer was raised in Rhode Island.
“Donald Trump’s White House does not get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to anti-Semitism. Steve Bannon made his name running a website that trafficked in anti-Semitism and racism. Seb Gorka has a history of working with anti-Semitic groups and individuals. And today, Sean Spicer made despicable, ignorant remarks about the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. Enough is enough,” said Cicilline. “Steve Bannon should not work in the White House. Seb Gorka should not work in the White House. And after today’s comments, Sean Spicer should not work in the White House. It’s time for some real accountability in this White House. And it should start with Sean Spicer’s resignation.”
