Trump spokesman Sean Spicer apologises for suggesting Hitler did not use chemical weapons
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has apologised for "insensitive" comments suggesting that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons.
Discussing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime's alleged use of the weapons, Mr Spicer told reporters: "You have someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."
Millions of Jewish people were killed in gas chambers by the Nazis during World War Two.
Mr Spicer faced a fierce backlash over the comments, including calls for him to be removed from his post.
Speaking to CNN later on Tuesday, Mr Spicer said: "I mistakenly used an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust for which, frankly, there is no comparison.
"For that I apologise, it was a mistake to do that."
US House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, were among those who called for him to be fired.
Mr Goldstein said: "Sean Spicer now lacks the integrity to serve as White House press secretary, and President Trump must fire him at once."
During the briefing, the press secretary was asked to clarify what he meant and tried to differentiate between Hitler's actions and the gas attack on Syrian civilians last week.
Mr Spicer said: "When it comes to sarin gas, [Hitler] was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing.
"He brought them into the Holocaust centres, I understand that.
"I was saying in the way that Assad used them where he went into town, dropped them into the middle of town.
"I appreciate the clarification. That was not the intent."
After the briefing, Mr Spicer emailed a statement to reporters which read: "In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust. I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centers. Any attack on innocent people is reprehensible and inexcusable."