PS Spicey Apologizes For Forgetting That Hitler Gassed Jews

You know that air freshener that just makes things worse? ~ Trevor Noah describing Sean Spicer's performance as WH Press Secretary on the 1/24/2017 airing of The Daily Show.

According to PS Spicey, "You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons". This was in regards to a question about the Orange guy's illegal missile strike on Syria (pub 4/11/2017).

Snopes: ...although German troops may not have used chemical weapons on the battlefield, they were wielded with abandon against German citizens (and numerous others) in prison camps. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Hitler's regime started using poisonous gases against Germans in 1939, with mental patients being the first people put to death through the use of carbon monoxide gas under a practice the Nazis referred to as "euthanasia". Starting in December 1941, this method of killing expanded through the use of "gas vans" employing engine exhaust as well as carbon monoxide and crystalline hydrogen cyanide (aka Zyklon B) in concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, and Treblinka, among others. Hitler did indeed use "gas on his own people the same way that Assad is [allegedly] doing" in the sense of employing it to kill innocent civilians; the only difference (to which Spicer was referring) was the delivery method: herding people into prison chambers to be gassed versus dropping gas bombs on them from the air.

PS Spicey later apologized for his forgetfulness, reminding me of the time Spicey said "I'd like to begin today by apologizing on behalf of you, to me. ... And that apology is not accepted".

The Anne Frank Center called (pre-apology) for Spicey to be fired. Their statement refers to Spicey's "evil spreading of the fake news that Hitler never used chemical weapons". Politicus USA notes that "The Trump White House has a history of trafficking in dog whistle Holocaust denial".

The history of the Trump White House dog whistling to the Bannon-types includes the following.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, for example, the White House issued a statement that did not mention the Jewish people, an erasure that is also a common tactic of Holocaust deniers. The statement was met with celebration on anti-Semitic websites. "This is the first time in history the President of the United States has made no mention of Jews, anti-Semitism, or the science fiction Zionist folklore about ovens and gas chambers so prominent in (((Hollywood))) narratives", the Daily Stormer... wrote. The three parentheses around "Hollywood" are a white supremacist designation for people or institutions they consider to be Jewish. ... After Spicer's statement, the Daily Stormer rejoiced even more, and took it as a confirmation that the statement had been an intentional veiled nod. "We previously reported that the White House released a statement on holohoax remembrance day that failed to mention Jews or anti-Semitism. This was in no way accidental, but all in all it was basically a subtle nod to us"... (The Trump team's history of flirting with Holocaust deniers by Laurel Raymond. ThinkProgress, 4/11/2017).

So... were Spicey's statements (which occurred during the Jewish holiday of Passover) "a series of verbal bungles — stupid, maybe, but not intentionally malevolent", or were they intentional? The racists say intentional. Me, I'm not sure. It's a hell of a coincidence if that is what it is. Given the fact that Trump's "chief strategist" Steve Bannon is an actual White Nationalist and the Trump campaign actively courted the White racist vote.

President Trump's been playing a double game with all things Jewish. He professes to be pro-Israel, but gained the alt-right following that helped him to power by repeatedly retweeting anti-Semitic and other racist propaganda. In one week in January 2016, 62% of his tweets had white nationalist origins or connections. (Sean Spicer's Holocaust remark is a symptom of Trump's problem by Ruth Ben-Ghiat. CNN 4/12/2017)

Hmmm... "a symptom of Trump's problem" or a manifestation of his strategy? I say strategy, strategized by Trump's chief strategist, the White Nationalist anti semite Steve Bannon. Which makes sense, given the fact (as I've pointed out on this blog multiple times) Donald Trump is a racist and a bigot (SWTD #347).

I don't know about Sean Spicer. He may just be another who sold out (like Kellyanne Conway) and jumped on the Trump train (after previously criticizing Trump). I do know that he's got no problem representing and speaking on behalf of a bigoted and racist administration.

Image: White Nationalists and Neo-Nazis use Sean Spicer's Hitler comments to validate Holocaust conspiracy theories, attack Jews (Media Matters, 4/12/2017).

See Also: [RNUSA] Spicer And His Hitler – Assad Comparison, 4/11/2017.

SWTD #375