I honestly don’t know how people can sit through an entire Sean Spicer briefing every single day. The marble-mouthed, gaffe-prone White House press secretary lies constantly, berates reporters, acts like a petty dictator and provides little to no useful information. The worst case scenario of any given Spicey briefing is usually that he makes some epic gaffe or tells some huge lie and it ends up trending on Twitter. Well, that happened on Tuesday. You know it was a terrible f–king briefing when “Sean Spicer” was trending along with “Holocaust Centers” and “German Jews.” Like, that’s just giving you a taste of The Spicey Experience.
So what exactly happened? Spicey was trying – I THINK? – to make the argument that Syria’s President Assad (or as Spicey calls him, “Ashad”) is the worst Hitler to ever Hitler and Ashad out-Hitlers Hitler and that’s why Donald Trump had to act because HITLER. Spicer started out defending the administration missile strike in Syria by comparing Assad’s actions to Adolf Hitler’s actions… in which it sounds Spicer seemed to believe that Hitler never, ever used chemical weapons on anyone?
“We didn’t use chemical weapons in World War II. You know, you had a, you know, someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons. So you have to if you’re Russia, ask yourself: Is this a country that you, and a regime, that you want to align yourself with? You have previously signed onto international agreements, rightfully acknowledging that the use of chemical weapons should be out of bounds by every country.”
Minutes later, another reporter asked for a clarification and basically gave Spicer a chance to walk back his comments. Spicer made it worse though, because of course he did.
“I think when you come to sarin gas, there was no — he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing,. I mean, there was clearly, I understand your point, thank you. Thank you, I appreciate that. There was not in the, he brought them into the Holocaust center, I understand that. What I am saying in the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns, dropped them down to innocent, into the middle of towns, it was brought — so the use of it. And I appreciate the clarification there. That was not the intent.”
This is just one of the spectacular reaction shots of the press pool when Spicer said “Holocaust center.”
the exact moment sean said "holocaust centers" pic.twitter.com/qcJRg71d9f
— David Mack (@davidmackau) April 11, 2017
So, yes, “Holocaust Center” was trending on Twitter which is completely appropriate in our Brave New Bigly World. But seriously, look at that second blockquote again and really read it. That’s how Spicer’s mind works. He’s making Syria the winner of the Genocide Olympics because he believes that Assad is worse because he kills “innocent” people by plane, in towns. Unlike not-as-bad Adolf Hitler, who had not-innocent people rounded up into Holocaust Centers (how quaint) and killed with chemical weapons.
Obviously, Spicer knew he stepped in it, because his office sent out a flurry of clarification statements. The clarifications were still being reworked several hours after the briefing, as one of the first clarifications actually included the sentence “In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust, however…” and then reiterating something about “innocent” people. Because again, to Sean Spicer, the Jews killed in the Holocaust were NOT innocent.
Spicer statement: “In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust, however…” pic.twitter.com/SiBZfgOZZ7
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
.@HallieJackson From the print pool, what appears to be a 4th Hitler clarification from Spicer, which adds a sentence at the end not there previously pic.twitter.com/lxZDJb2rwt
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
And now the Anne Frank Center says Spicer must be fired. Nancy Pelosi says he should be sh-tcanned too. I’m done.
Anne Frank Center: “Sean Spicer now lacks the integrity to serve as White House press secretary, and President Trump must fire him at once.” pic.twitter.com/HBRFutsZzW
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Ignorance isn’t bliss, it falls upon our Government…..trickled down effect of bs
I guess Spicer doesn’t get that calling Trump “Agent Orange” isn’t just referring to the color of his skin.
Also, “We” didn’t use chemical weapons in WWII? One could argue that atomic bombs are pretty much the ultimate chemical weapons but since Hitler didn’t use those either, I guess it doesn’t matter that beautiful children in Nagasaki died during the war…
It’s a rough week for Jews; 1st Marine Le Pen saying that France shouldn’t feel ashamed of the Velodrome d’hiver (we should definitely feel ashamed about it, it was disgusting and French people did horrible things not just because Germany said so) and now this…
It’s gross, it hasn’t been that long and yet, people are already minimizing the horrors of WWII! I’m kinda glad my grandparents told me all those wars stories and showed me places where executions happen (you can still see bullet holes on some buildings in Paris and elsewhere). Those were redundent and quite of a downer but I’ll never forget how awful this period has been. (Since they live close to the FN HQ, my grandpa also thought us to spit and pee on that building but that’s another story)
If there is anyone in that administration who should be good at using their words it’s the Press Secretary, and I’ve seen drunks on the subway who can parse words with more skill and clarity.
Ha, thanks for the chuckle INeedANap! INeedAReprieve!
Right? Self awareness is a good thing and by now, Spicer should recognize that he’s shit at his job and he needs to step down and go do something else. Preferably far far away.
Spicer is the Dan Quayle of Press Secretaries.
How can anyone look at his face and not want to smash it like a pumpkin?
Bwhahahaha!!!! So funny, but also correct!
This Administration needs a press secretary for their own press secretary.
I have no word 😒
I do. RAGE.
I had to call my elderly great-aunt (who just so happens to live in DC), and who also happened to survive three different concentration camps, to make sure she was okay. She just sighed and said “when fools win, empathy loses”. She also said she was sending a “strongly-worded letter to that Spicer asshole” and would happily tape it to his office door.
Delphi, I was watching with my dad, who is a survivor of four camps, as well as the death march… who, as a boy, with his older brother, and father were dragged off in one direction while he watched as his mother and younger brother were dragged off to one “Holocausr Center” for “showers”. Yeah, Spicey, I don’t think they were offered Turkish towels and tea in the “Center”. Dipshit.
I have to say though, watching a mad Wolf Blitzer keep asking him, “Who are you apologising to?” over and over, and watching that POS squirm, that was satisfying.
I grew up hearing stories from women like your aunt (I imagine…..) and they taught me the importance of empathy. I will never forget.
I swear that when this pendulum swings back……I hope it knocks every one of these men, and Kelly Anne, back to hell. Rage is right.
I was at work but when I got home a friend called me to warn me. My dad’s side of the family is Jewish, Russian, as in they were forced out by the czars in some of the previous extermination attempts before the Nazis in the 20th century. The Nazis weren’t the first to kill Jews, but…how can he (Spicer) even…ugh.
As teacher, I went: What? Did Spicey fail U.S. History in high school? Holocaust “centers?”
However, as a Jew, who interviewed many concentration camp survivors for my masters degree in history my response was: f*ck you, arsewipe. F*uck you! “Centers?” They were gassing children, women, the elderly and disabled. And Spicer makes it sound like a stop on I-95 where you pick up brochures for your family trip to Gettysburg. WTF!?
Spicer needs to be fired. And perhaps put on a plane to Auschwitz for a history lesson. Tone deaf anti-Semit.
Yeah, little mad.
A dear friend of mine and her father are on a book tour right now (OK, taking a break for Passover). They wrote a book called “Survivor’s Club”. Her father was one of the youngest children to have survived Auschwitz and they are finally telling his story.
Many of us have suggested that she send Spicer a signed copy of the book.
My grandfather was fortunate enough to get out of Poland a few weeks before the Nazi’s invaded. Most of his family died in the camps.
I am way beyond livid. I am also throughly unsurprised. Spicer will not get fired. He will not even get reprimanded.
How reporters are sitting in that room daily is beyond me…I would have lost it by now and screamed at him….what a tool
This is exactly what I was thinking, because if I had been there I would have either a) fallen out of my chair, b) let out a yell of shock / dismay / anger / etc or c) yelled and then fallen out of my chair.
I just…wow. These reporters are definitely earning their pay.
Here is the video to their reaction.
http://twitter.com/parkermolloy/status/851867144400900096
Thank you SusanneToo. April Oneal turning her head like “are you guys also f*cking witnessing this?” I love April!
I just wish the reporters would take off the gloves (especially at times like this) and just outright call him out on his stupidity
They need to go beyond that and start calling Trump on allowing this to continue. The news out of the daily press briefing should not be the press secretary’s major screw-ups but Trump is allowing this to go on so that the focus is on Spicer instead of on Trump.
This! Not that the reporters should start screaming in the briefing room, but this whole ‘ask the intelligent questions, let the buffoon fall on his sword’ thing just will not work with this group of buffoons. I don’t know if I’m putting it into the right words in how I’m phrasing it. But when the entire administration is made up of blatant ignorant liars and morons, they need to actually be challenged.
I actually cannot cope with how utterly thick he appears to be. It makes my heart hurt.
I’d have had to shout at him if I was there. Holocaust Centres……like it’s a bloody day spa.
And what he means is “Hitler gassed the jews, blacks, gypsies, homosexuals but left the rest alone. Assad just did everyone, BOO!”
If it were not so offensive, it would be funny. He kept trying to dig himself out, and just kept digging deeper. And on Passover. Good job, Spicey!
It was like he was confusing his Alt-Right training and his Press Secretary training and we got this garbage.
A few days ago someone on Celebitchy had said Sean Spicer will implode soon and Trump will need a new press secretary. That day may be coming up. Sean will not be fired, but he will be “encouraged to resign”
Holocaust Centers is not the point. The really horrifying part is that he doesn’t consider German Jews as Hitler’s own people.
And that he’s so f*cking ignorant that he doesn’t know about Zyklon B.
Or that they’re not called Holocaust Centres…like what the actual bejeesus is that??
Also as it was done in a controlled area, it’s not considered an act of war or genocide apparently….
And apparently does think these folks in then”holocaust centers” were innocent. Read a decent history book, or Wiesel’s Night, Spicey!
Shambles, that was me you heard screaming at the tv in horror yesterday: “Have you never heard of Zyclon B!!!” What does he think happened in “Holocaust centers”? Could they find a more stupid Press Secretary? Offensive doesn’t cover it with this tool.
He needs a trip to the Holocaust museum for some bloody education…if only there was one in DC…..
*scratches head*
Well, in Trumplandia, Zyklon B is probably considered an air freshener.
And +million, @t.fanty. The fact that these alt-right a-holes still have the gall to act all insulted when they’re called Neo-Nazis, it’s just… I have no words.
Spicer went on CNN To “apologize” and closed out the segment by saying Trump was working to destabilize the region. Afterwards Wolf said he probably meant ISIS. These bafoons simply do not understand that words matter.
@Megan
Spicer meant exactly that. He was just too tired to realise that he was on CNN and not a White House staff meeting. A destabilised Middle East is fantastic for Trumps domestic agenda because its a great distraction, justifies a move to a police state, spurs patriotic sentiment to silence his opposition, gets the military industial complex off his back and oil, oil, OIL. Trumps greatest wish for his birthday is an even more destablized middle east.
Exactly. Anti-Semitism is so deeply ingrained in this administration it’s frightening.
He wants SO badly to say the Holocaust didn’t happen. This was just step 1.
Not German, not innocent. A point on which he and Hitler agrees.
And he said Hitler didn’t drop the gas on “innocents.” What were all those millions guilty of, other than being Jewish, Romani, or gay?
Their origins made them guilty in Spicer’s eyes, apparently. I doubt even he’s dumb enough to believe Hitler only killed criminals.
Did he really say that directly, or are people assuming it’s implied because of his awkward attempt to compare Assad with Hitler? Did he just say that Assad dropped the weapons on innocents and people assumed he meant Hitler wasn’t killing innocents? If so, he wasn’t saying that Hitler’s victims were not innocent, he just is expressing himself very badly and not thinking of such implications.
The guy is incredibly poor in choosing his words, so this really is an important distinction. I think it’s very unlikely that Spicer believes that Hitler was only killing bad dudes. But he’s quite capable of being totally clueless about how his words sound and what they imply. He has blinders on and focuses on doing the job Trump wants him to do, which in this case is to get everybody to believe Assad is worse than Hitler (as though being Assad isn’t bad enough). So he isn’t likely to be even thinking of the whole picture at once. He’s thinking more about how Trump is going to throw him under the bus again and yell and scream at him if he doesn’t get the main task done right. Other details go out the window. He comes across as a very anxious man and working for the Boss From Hell isn’t helping. The money must be fantastic….
If he really doesn’t know that babies and children not old enough to be bad dudes by anybody’s estimation were killed in the camps, then he needs to take an intensive course at the nearest real Holocaust Center. But I still think we’re just dealing with someone who can’t think through these things on the spot.
Exactly, t.fanty! It’s terrifying that the administration doesn’t believe German Jews were Hitler’s own people. It reinforces the otherizing that happens now of anyone who isn’t white, Christian, male, straight, cisgender or able-bodied in Trump’s America
I’m not at all surprised. This is a right-wing, extremist, white supremacist, antisemitic, racist administration. They have been showing us who they are for 3 months, it’s time we believed them.
The bar is so low that these imbeciles are praised if they just make it six hours without a major new mess.
It amazes me when someone thinks things will magically improve. They’ve shown us who they are, many times.
Not only the Holocaust comment what about the “We didn’t use chemical weapons in ww II” ? Ermmmm HELLO???? what about something much worse called Nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed +100.000 people… most of them innocent? the whole comment from beginning to end was just unbelievable!
America is burried so deep in wartime revisionism that this wouldnt register even among liberals. The US also used the gas Agent Orange on Vietnamese civillians including children. Also google Operation Tailwind during which the US employed nerve gas against AMERICAN defectors during the Cold War. Spicer needs a good History lesson.
Totally agree. But you know Trump is more than willing to use the nuclear option and will justify it by saying at least they aren’t using chemical weapons. I read the book “Hiroshima” when I was a teen and was blown away by the devastation.
Yes Cherise… all of those as well, you are very right!… I mean if I were the man I would have stayed shut about Americans not using chemical weapons against anyone …let alone the Hitler comment. A good history lesson is needed by more people, not just spicer.
This is so mind-numbingly stupid, ignorant, and offensive. Sean Spicer is straight-up dumb, lies all the time, and is a terrible speaker. He can’t even string a coherent sentence together on a good day, and managed to insult the entire Jewish population during Passover. So it’s highly appropriate that this man speaks for our president.
It is so highly appropriate that he speaks for Bigly. In this instance he seemed to actually surpass Bigly’s level of ignorance and idiocy, which isn’t easy.
I honestly don’t understand why someone in the press corps didn’t jump up immediately and call him out very firmly.
He makes these clueless offensive remarks out of ignorance then instead of making an outright apology, makes an excuse for the remarks and digs himself into a bigger hole.
Spicer sums up the incompetence of the entire Trump administration.
Becky, exactly. It’s like they are incapable of owning up to anything. It’s exhausting.
I think Spicer is a perfect representative of President Tweeter, who misuses and abuses language the same way and is even more ignorant. Actually Trump is more likely to actually believe the dumb things he says, at least at the instant he says them. Spicer is trying to match Trump’s ravings regardless of their lack of sense or agreement with reality, but he isn’t the source.
Reporters do need to work together to call him out on such stuff instantly. If he shuts down one person, the next one he calls on needs to repeat it. They should be polite, just clearly point out the implications and ask him if that’s what he wants to say.
With Jared and Ivanka having more influence in the White House and Steve Bannon’s role being reduced. I wonder what the fallout from this latest shitshow will be? I can’t see the Kushners being comfortable with Sean remaining as press secretary
The fact that the Kushners are part of this truly anti-Semitic administration tells me they have put money and power ahead of their faith. If keeping Spicer serves their greedy ends, he will stay.
Idk, they’re comfortable with a hell of a lot of other stuff you’d think they wouldn’t be comfortable with. Dear daddy shouted down a Jewish reporter in the most condescending tone just for asking a question, and they didn’t say a thing about that.
Very much agree with Megan. These people have no beliefs, they only care about money, power, and superiority.
@RussianBlueCat However there were Jewish collaborators who worked with the Nazis in the camps and turned in their neighbors. They were complicit in the murder of their own people for various reasons (greed, fear, hoping it would save their own skins). I see Jared and Ivanka in that role. מְשַׁתֵף פְּעוּלָה in Hebrew. History WILL judge Ivanka and her husband.
I actually wonder if Trump said in a meeting something along the lines that Hitler didn’t even do this and spicy just repeated it. Trump doesn’t seem to know much about history and Bannon probably doesn’t believe the Holocaust happened.
Yes, shambles, he’s an excellent representative of our current administration. I mean that as in, the absolute worst. So scary that these people are running our country.
How on earth did he get the job of press secretary, how did he make a successful career in communications. He’s about as eloquent as his boss.
How is he the WH SPOKESperson? doesn’t that involve, you know, speaking? I hear he’s a nice guy but he’s clearly not up to the task of speaking and either he’s too rattled by the stupidity of his boss/orders he’s told to carry out, or he’s a bit stupid himself.
It’s hard to understand how a ‘nice’ person would get involved (and stay) with such a greedy, self-serving circus. I have a feeling when things implode, there will be several ‘nice’ people claiming they were innocently trying to right the ship.
He doesn’t seem very nice to me. Besides, people can be fake
It should be stressed over and over again that he SPEAKS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!
I didn’t think this administration could shock me anymore. As a German/Greek, it’s always been a difficult topic in my family. When your various grandparents experienced WWII from such different perspectives and you grow up in the country that set three continents on fire, it’s not something you deal with easily when you really try to deal with it. That goes for millions of people. And nobody in my family ended up in a “Holocaust Center”. Still.
I almost cried just now. Because THIS SH*T is the reason we can’t “let it go” etc. There are so many young people who think we need to just let it rest. Um, NO??? There is one small thing I’m pretty proud of. We at least deal with our darkest history. Most countries don’t. We had not choice but we know and accept what we did. It’s not much but it’s something. That can’t change and THIS IS WHY!
WHO even comes up with this expression “Holocaust Center”? I have never heard that. They are called concentration camps. Death camps. Don’t even! I could write a thesis on all the ways that this statement is horrifying and terrifying. Not to mention offensive.
He later referred to ‘population centres’ in one of his clarifications. My guess is he mixed up ‘Holocaust’ with ‘population centre’ when he was trying to find the right words to describe the concentration camps. It just reinforces the fact that he shouldn’t be in this role – a man incapable of thinking on his feet fast enough to recall well-known names of historic sites or events shouldn’t be a press officer.
Yes he lies, is ignorant and tyrannical..he’s mirroring his boss. The message doesn’t originate with him. I’m always saddened that most reporters don’t confront either of them with facts.
Are “Holocaust Centers” where one goes to learn “alternative facts”?
They are museums about the Holocaust, built in many countries. So I hope not.
I don’t und……how could he……what was he thin……I can’t even.
Ringmaster of the sh*t show!
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye to the king of alternative facts. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
I think it is being too kind to say that he is gaffe prone. This isn’t VEEP or any kind of situation comedy. This is a real life racist moron who is at least smart enough to hide his hatred in coded language so that he and that administration can put through their Nazi hate filled agenda through in secret without scaring some of the “I’m not a racist; I just voted for one because it is complicated” crowd.
The word kakistocracy was going round yesterday – government by the worst, most stupid and least qualified.
I honestly think that about sums it up.
Do you guys ever do this? Laugh uncontrollably and hysterically without being able to stop, because there’s a horrible stone in your stomach telling you that if you do stop, there will be nothing left but to confront the horror and disgusting nature of it all?
That was me yesterday. The Sixlets told me off for laughing but how do you explain to kids that this particular brand of laughter isn’t laughter at all? It’s some weird psychological protection kicked in by your brain.
Yes. I want to laugh at the ineptitude out of fear there is something more sinister going on.
Sixer, yes, yes I do.
It’s a wonder our brains haven’t begun to malfunction more seriously given all that we’ve been required to process every. single. day.
I’ve heard that term recently, specifically describing the Trump administration.
I like it cos it kinda puns with the Britisher slang word for poo – kak/cack. So it’s accurate AND satirical.
That’s very interesting. A teacher was talking about that the other day, about the huge influence Youtubers have for new generations, and how most are, in fact, dangerously ignorant.
Just take the “Banana Girl”, only children and teens could believe the things she says.
It’s a nervous reaction. And in this case, it is quite normal.
I remember reading somewhere (can’t for the life of me remember where) that the reason we can’t tickle ourselves into laughing is that tickling – which produces laughter – is actually our body’s way of noting danger. It makes an incredible amount of sense – there’s nothing fun or enjoyable about being tickled (for me) but I’ll still laugh if someone does it. My husband went to tickle me once and I didn’t budge, but I had a horrible ex who would every so often because when I laugh I snort sometimes and he thought it was funny.
I agree with lightpurple that it can be a nervous reaction. My husband has really bad inappropriate laughter. I take loss really hard and when my fish died (I know, I know) I wanted to bury it and he started to chuckle. I realized it was a bit absurd, but he couldn’t stop, which made me upset, which made him laugh harder. I’m always a little worried when we go to funerals he’ll start. The last funeral we went to he was ok, but had to excuse himself to avoid breaking into laughter. It sucks, but it’s a real thing.
Maybe an interesting teachable moment for the sixlets about coping skills, defense mechanisms and neurological disorders like pseudobulbar affect…just a little light education in the wake of totally abnormal societal breakdowns. :/
As embarrassing as he is for us as a nation, I don’t want him to resign or be fired. This administration is a sh-t show, an offensive sh-t show at that, and Spicer is the perfect bumbling fool to be their mouthpiece. One thing we absolutely do not want is for him to be replaced with someone smarter and more competent who can stand at that podium and spin smooth, seamless lies that make this all seem palatable. Spicer is no Joseph Goebbels, and that’s a VERY good thing.
Yeah, I’m kinda with you on that. It’s a good thing that this administration’s spin doctors are bumbling dumbasses like Spicer and Conway. Let Spicey keep his job. Knowing the lack of shame/remorse Trump et al. have expressed so far, that seems like the likely outcome.
+ 1,000
Agreed. But apparently no one wants this job, or the Chief of Staff position, anyway. So it’s unlikely they’d find anyone half way intelligent to replace him.
Today the second hour of 1A on NPR was about White House chiefs of staff. It sounds like a truly horrific job under the best of circumstances. Given the chaos of the Trump White House, no one is going to step up to replace Priebus.
Yeah, that is true. He is very bad at covering up the shenanigans of his office. So embarrassing, though.
Agreed. Let him continue being inept.
I don’t even understand Spicer’s point. Let’s pretend Hilter didn’t use gas. He still did 1000 other forms of torture and violence.
It’s not a contest, ffs.
Both are horrid for their own reasons, no need to compare them. He deserves to be fired, today, but we know it won’t happen.
If you even think to start a sentence with “Even Hitler didn’t” then sit the frack down fast.
ETA: he is being defended by trump supporters, from the posts I’ve been reading. The usual “he didn’t mean what he said” bullshit they spin. Deplorable 🙁
It seems that, in Spicer’s mind, Assad won over Hitler 1-0. Sick!
He was using that example for reasoning as why Trump decided to bomb the airfield. Basically saying “well Trump HAD to because even Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons on his own, innocent people.” Well yeah Sean, he kinda did. “Ok but that was different. Those were Holocaust centers. I’m talking about innocent, unsuspecting people.” Uhhh Sean still kinda THE SAME THING!!
Seriously this whole administration is ridiculous.
Yeah. God, he’s so so so stupid it defies description.
It’s bizarre that this “he didn’t mean what he said” is used as an excuse. How can it be mitigating circumstances for trump or spicer or any senior politician to be so unintelligible? Like this nonsense about reporters making the mistake of taking trump literally. It’s not up to others to try and interpret the stream of unconsciousness. It’s up to senior people to express themselves coherently, clearly and unambiguously. It shouldn’t require the Amy Adams character from Arrival to understand what these people are saying. If they understand what they are trying to say of course, which I think is doubtful.
It’s not so much an excuse for his linguistic bumbling as an explanation that needs to be considered when reacting to it. Leaping to conclusions based on what a skilled person would mean just doesn’t work with the linguistically impaired like Spicer. Tossing labels at him doesn’t help. If he thinks he labels don’t apply (and they may not), he will just feel insulted and angry and defensive. Asking him direct questions on the spot about the implications of whatever doofus thing he just said might make a difference, at least to viewers at home if Spicer doesn’t respond well to them. The odds are that many of the viewers aren’t using/hearing language in a particularly skilled fashion either.
I’ve done some work on verbal conflict resolution and have edited some people’s writing to “de-flame” them, to maximize the chances of the other person actually hearing what the sender intends and not reacting badly and getting unnecessarily defensive. People shut down when they feel attacked and don’t listen well. This is why labels tend to be counterproductive – better to focus on specific issues and behavior rather than trying to categorize people by label. Sometimes the label clearly fits, such as with Steve Bannon who might as well have them tattooed on his forehead. But Trump and Spicer are harder to define that way. Trump especially because the only constant is that he says and does whatever is best for Trump, and lies and contradicts himself routinely as his perception of what’s best for Trump shifts from day to day. But Spicer is hard to categorize also because of his linguistic problems and of course because he is speaking for ever-shifting Trump.
I also work as a scientific translator from several languages, so I’m used to carefully analyzing every part of a sentence. But most people read and listen more casually because that attention isn’t needed for their work or life. People who write a lot or just read very widely are likely to pay much closer attention to language as well. But it’s important to remember why there are so many misunderstandings and figure out ways to minimize them.
Read a comment on one of the websites (CNN, Washington Post, not sure which) last night that the commenter totally understood what Spicer was trying to say and that we shouldn’t call him out. This person had relatives that survived the concentration camps. Blew my mind.
Could there be any other possible explanation for what Spicer tried to say, other than gassing Jews = not as bad as gassing Aryans (‘his own people’)? How do you even spin that? Unbelievable.
uuugghhh….that kind of thinking reminds me of the classic deflection “I’m not racist, some of my best friends are black”
Of course he said this–he is the mouthpiece of a white nationalist administration that is unapologetic about being anti-Semitic. it should come as no surprise to anyone–that doesn’t make it less appalling, it is appalling–but still, that’s who these fascists are.
Anti-Semitic, Anti-Muslim, Anti-safe-environment, Anti-anything-other-than-white-male-with-a-penis and what benefits the latter. Monkeys with typewriters would do less damage than this administration has done and continues doing.
YES–they are all of those things and totally only pro-white cis males with money.
I would totally vote for monkeys with typewriters to take over.
Monkeys 2020!
Melissa McCarthy is hosting again, soon, right?
I hope so. This is almost too awful for parody though. What are they going to do? Have “Spicey” roll out a model of a Syrian town with porcelain doll children and smash it with waterballoon bombs? Before demonstrating, with a spray bottle, how much NICER a light chemical shower over the naughty troll dolls in the Holocaust centre is? 😵
This man is so awful at this point she could ready Spicer’s transcript word for word and get the same effect. 🙁
Yesterday, Chris Meloni tweeted at her to clear her schedule.
I love Chris Meloni. Have you watched the show Underground he’s in?
Yes, she will be hosting on May 13th I believe, and it will be live on the West Coast.
An ignoramous working for an ignoramous.
Non-readers, these are the types to burn books too.
What a stupid jerk! How could someone make such a ginormous, ridiculous, foolish mistake like this? Does he know how to think before he speaks? I bet my cat is more intelligent than this clown. I apologize to anyone who lived though and lost someone in that horrible time of history and had to hear him make such a mistake
It’s just one big cluster f**k after another with these people! Seriously, whoever voted for this government needs their ass kicked!!!
When you have to clarify your own statement three times, you’re stupid, insincere and bad at your job. The CEO of United must be breathing a sigh of relief this morning however.
History lesson asshole- chemical weapons were used in both world wars. HItler DID in fact gas his own citizens, who WERE innocent German Jews. As well as any other innocent, marginalized group he could round up.
I can’t wait to see how 45 and Kushner spin this? Like, when does this idiot become enough of a liability?
I guess this week’s episode of SNL wrote itself. AGAIN.
Another horrible in a very long line of horribles.
I think he’s just a morone. When I read about it, i could see where he was trying to make a point about how bad Assad is. But bringing up Hitler is completely disturbing. Are we going to start comparing all dictators who have killed their own people? How about Pol Pot & the Cambodia “killing fields” is that “not so bad” because he didn’t use chemicals to kill them? & it also appears that Spicer just truly doesn’t know his history? How are marching people into gas chambers any different than dropping chemical gasses on them from airplanes?? I just can’t with his ignorance. I did see a great quote that the Martin Luther King foundation (The King Center) tweeted yesterday: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
At what point do the racist comments cease to be “mistakes” or “misspoken comments” that need multiple clarifications? These asshats are what they appear to be and what spews out of their hateful mouths. The only people/thoughts that matter are their’s and everyone and everything else be damned. No one can claim to be that stupid and ignorant of history and what happened in Nazi Germany.
I believe spicer is the perfect spokesperson for this ignorant, bigoted, sh1tshow of an administration. I honestly do not want a smart, slick, sweet talking press secretary who will give rational sound bites to the press. spicer’s incompetance is emblematic of all trump’s moves.
Yes, yes, yes. I just saw your post. I agree and said something similar farther down.
And Penny said the same farther up. I think most of us agree that this pathetically shameful clownshow is a Confederacy of Dunces, bound together in varying levels of greed, stupidity and bigotry. How did we ever come to this point?
Ditto. Better this clown than someone like Ari Fleischer who is too smart and too smooth by half. I wanted to smack the smug off his face last night on CNN when he started making excuses for Spicer’s shameful, idiotic comments and lame apology.
This was no accident. This is just another in a long line of anti-Semitic remarks coming out of this administration. Spicey Boy got his talking points from Bannon or one of the other Anti-Semites or Racists in the White House.
Agreed! This wasn’t a ‘mistake’ any more than it would be a mistake if I went outside and said my lawn was red. Quibbling over the well-established facts of the Holocaust is not debate or discussion – it is denial.
Why the surprise? There are actual Nazis working in the White House. Spicy worked for a Holocaust denier. Of course, he is going to dismiss and demean the Jewish people.
Exactly! Nothing about what he said surprises me. Those are his (and this administration’s) beliefs and he only “apologized” to save face. And he couldn’t even do that.
Yes, it’s obvious he sees nothing wrong with what he originally said, it’s just those pesky reporters giving him a hard time because libtards and fake news.
@Anitas, don’t forget the special snowflakes! 🙂
My 90 year old German Jewish bubbe and her sister were evacuated from Nazi Germany in 1939 on a British Kindertransport ship. Her father fought for and with the Germans in WWI. She still considers herself German.
She lost almost all of her family (with the exception of my Great Aunt) in the Holocaust. We had to try and explain to her WTH Spicer meant at our 2nd night Passover Seder last night.
It was a horrible, horrible night for my family. Instead of a joyous celebration, we will remember this night as being different from all other nights as the night Sean Spicer dismissed the Holocaust. :'(
That’s horrible, Gina. Your poor family! Try not too fear, though. I honestly believe the wind will turn in the elections next year. The average person won’t stand for this.
Sympathy and solidarity, Gina.
I cannot imagine the horror of this. Please know that millions of Americans stand with you and your family!!
Hugs, Gina.
My thoughts are with you and your family. I am continually disgusted by the actions of the current administration and I will never stop resisting them. Our country does not belong to them, it belongs to all of us.
Gina 🙁
I am so sorry you had to even read about this, let alone deal with it during Passover and with your family members.
Oh, Gina. And I thought I had it bad doing Seder at the nursing home. (My mom is in a dementia unit.) Sean Spicer: The 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th plagues….(I actually turned out extra drops of wine for the administration and the things that are going on.)
I am so sorry. The ignorance is inexcusable, and clearly very hurtful.
Hugs and prayers, Gina.
Spicer is a perfect fit for the dysfunctional so-called Trump administration. I think a more articulate liar/spokesperson would be more dangerous.
Bingo.
I don’t want Spicey fired. I don’t want Bannon fired. I don’t want some semblance of sanity coming into Trump’s administration, which then would help keep him afloat and gives him any legitimacy. I want his motley band of inept bigots still around the biggest idiot himself, Trump I want this presidency to implode bigly all going down together.
Exactly! I don’t want them to have a coherent, finessed Press Secretary, they should have the spokesman of the awful White House be awful and transparent for what he and what he represents really are…awful, awful people.
I agree. Let them keep showing who they are. Wait until middle class and rural folks finally realize how they’ve been played. I am waiting for the A Face in the Crowd moment when one of the key players brazenly admits they’re using them and laughs at their ignorance.
Spicer is a source of limitless buffoonery, there should be a way to harvest his stupidity to power cities since is free flowing and renewable.
That’s a great idea, but unless it puts money in their pockets, ain’t gonna happen.
I wonder how Netanyahu feels about this, considering his support for Trump and the building of that wall.
I have no words. I am so sorry for those who had to read/listen to this and have relatives who died in concentration camps. The fact I even exist is because my great grandparents were one of the lucky few who did not meet that fate.
Also in yesterday’s presser, Spicer acknowledged that Princess Nagini was indeed responsible for Trump’s decision to bomb Syria.
Wat.
(Also, potentially dumb question: where does the Princess Nagini reference come from?)
Some have pointed out a resemblance between Drumpf and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter and Jared to Voldemort’s younger self, Tom Riddle. Voldemort keeps a large deadly snake named Nagini to do his bidding. She is his most faithful and trusted and beloved servant and using dark magic he turns items that are dear to him into horcruxs, which contain pieces of his torn soul, and grant him a sort of immortality. To kill him, you must destroy her. We are in search of our Neville Longbottom, wielded if the sword of Gryffindor, slayer of the snake Nagini
Ha, thanks for the explanation!
I’m just going to say it: how has nobody assassinated these people yet? Seriously. How has NOBODY attempted this yet?
I’ve wondered the same.
No one wants to turn them into martyrs. They want them alive when they haul them off to jail.
What sane hitman would even want to be near them? And how do you kill lizard people anyway?
My theory is that the usual small number of disturbed people who carry out assassinations in our country are Trump supporters.
I literally don’t know what to do with myself. I’m shocked that he’s so stupid, and deeply embarrassed for him. It’s like they’re trying to kill us with their stupidity.
When the Anne Frank Center has to come for you, you know it’s bad.
That’s my husband’s and my theory, too.
And the worst part is it’s Passover week. How disrespectful can you be?
The Guardian published an amazing article about this. It is worth reading it.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/11/sean-spicers-hitler-holocaust-speak-volumes
What point was he trying to get across? That it’s worse to drop gas on people instead of marching them into gas ovens? This just boggles the mind. And this man is so incoherent. Did he go to the same school as Trump? I mean they need to brush up on English Grammar 101. Oh and Human Decency 101 as well.
The people in Hitler’s camps were ‘just’ Jews, that was his point: while that was perhaps not done ‘in good taste’, it’s not like he dropped lethal gas in towns where Aryans could’ve been harmed too. Now that would’ve been a real crime!
I don’t think Spicer is anti-Semitic or denying the Holocaust. He just is in way over his head with this job. He must need xanax chewing gum by the handful.
He wasn’t really saying Jews weren’t real Germans. He was just getting all tangled up as usual. Don’t read too much into what he says because despite his job, he’s a terrible communicator. He doesn’t generally think fast on his feet and isn’t very deep sitting down either. He’s a good representative of the Trumpian chaos in the White House, though.
That comparison between Assad and Hitler was so peculiar that my guess is that President Tweeter heard somebody say it on tv, probably Fox News. Spicer just repeats what his boss tells him to say. My bet is that the odd “Holocaust Center” was a quick decision because he suddenly realized that the common name “gas chamber” contradicted the part about Hitler not using chemical weapons. I doubt that he thought it through.
This is why the guy always looks so stressed. He does feel conflicted and is not really a skilled liar, but he’s being asked to lie all the time. Sometimes he doesn’t realize it’s a lie until someone points it out, panics, andjust digs himself into a deeper hole. Other times he knows he’s lying, and occasionally it dawns on him mid-sentence that what he’s saying doesn’t really make sense. He’s not the brightest bulb on the tree but is lying for someone even dimmer. He should quit and take a long vacation, watching nothing but videos of kittens and puppies. Even better, surrounding himself with real kittens and/or puppies. The money can’t be good enough to destroy his soul like this.
Maybe someone had pointed out on one of Trump’s favorite shows that Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons on the battlefield (he had been seriously ill himself from mustard gas in WWI) but that may not be accurate either. There is apparently some evidence that he used them against the Russians. He knew from personal experience how chemical weapons can easily backfire, however. But he certainly used chemical weapons on people he caged first to make it easier. This to me is the same as aiming them at people on the street, just less sporting since the people on the street have a slim chance of avoiding the hit.
But someone like Trump hears what he wants to hear. He’s getting criticism for his token missile strike on an empty airbase that may have killed some nearby civilians, including children. He wants to tell people that Assad is another Hitler- no, worse than Hitler. So Donald the Brave is taking down SuperHitler now. But when he starts tossing numbers around, not only does Hitler defend his title based on sheer numbers of civilians killed, some pesky people start pointing out that the US has killed numbers of civilians just in Iraq and Afghanistan that is giving Assad some competition in the dead civilians numbers contest. And then more pesky people will point out that Trump turned back Syrians looking for refuge against Assad, just as America had done to European Jews. (It has been speculated that six million Jewish refugees were denied entrance during the relevant period. Interesting figure, yes?) And even peskier people are starting counts of civilians killed and injured by US actions in Syria, including children.
See how that works, Donald? Real facts will trip you up every time. Alternative facts don’t have a chance.
Just because he’s stupid and hilariously incompetent, doesn’t mean he’s not anti-Semitic. You don’t even have to actively profess white supremacy to be anti-Semitic. Spicer’s ridiculous insistence that gassing people in ‘Holocaust centres’ where Jews were separated from ‘Aryans’ is not as bad as dropping gas in towns where ‘real Germans’ could’ve got harmed too, sends a very clear message of how he really feels about the Holocaust. He’s not new to politics or political PR, it’s just that he’s finally on a large enough stage where his stupid and outrageous remarks resonate globally. Don’t fall in the trap of feeling sympathy for him just because he’s remarkably incompetent, when he also happens to be a class A douchebag. Of his own choice.
I have no sympathy for Spicer. Anyone with ethics would not do this “trump’s ventriloquist’s dummy” job. As someone says elsewhere on the thread, being told to go out there and repeat the inane nonsense about the bigly inauguration crowd should have prompted an honourable person to say an early “that’s it, I’m off”. He is also “COMPLICIT”.
I disagree entirely. A poor communicator reverts to familiar phraseology to communicate. They do not make up new terms of reference. So even if you can apply the most generous interpretation to his comparison of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and in Germany, there is no excuse for his not considering the gassing of millions of Jewish people to constitute the use of a chemical weapon, nor his refusal to utter the phrase “concentration camp” in favour of “holocaust centre” to which the apparent non-citizens were “brought” . The use of such sanitized and dismissive language indicates that’s exactly how he frames these events internally and that is most definitely anti-Semitic by any stretch of interpretation.
On behalf of the USA, I just want to say I am so sorry that this is the government representing our nation.
You have no idea how ashamed I feel about it.
What about napalm?? The USA army seemed to love it during Vietnam and it doesn’t seem very organic to me, so don’t bullshit us with only “Ashar” uses chemical weapons on people, Spicer.
Regarding the horrible comments on the holocaust, this people knows no shame. Ignorance at its best.
The US had large stocks of chemical weapons in the past and no big problem using them. I remember the problems encountered in trying to destroy the damned things under treaty agreements.
Monitoring compliance is a key issue. Which is why it would make so much more sense to focus on that issue rather than tossing missiles around and bragging about it to a foreign leader over the bestest chocolate cake in the world, with Trump’s name squirted on it. God, he is such an idiot.
And such an event screams out for a coalition behind it that puts treaty compliance above chest-thumping. Just letting the boy emperor do it all by himself and then people saying it’s ok is not acceptable.
My grandfather certainly had a great time at the Holocaust Centre. So much so he went to two, both of which he escaped from before living in the woods/pig sty/basements selling his gold necklace link by link to survive as the rest of his family were systematically murdered.
My grandparents were involved in World War I there’s so much hideous stuff that was done during that time. Sean not so bright. Great Russia is flying bad home planes over Japan now. Orange Cheetoloonie… should be very cautious never bite the hand that feeds you all those people whom colluded with his boyfriend Puttycakes he is now ‘distancing’ himself from with the oh I don’t know him he’s a nice guy but he was not on my campaign long I’m my own strategist… he went to bed with the evil of the evilest vipers and they will turn on him like a dime he forgets that they probably have a crap load of not so nice info on him and will drop it on him like he does his orange spray tan. Congress should block him from any military action unless they draft his sons to be in the thick of it because you never provoke certian countries and if they all aligned together we will be a third world country! I have lived in Seoul, Korea my father was a Army man and I was there at a young age and a later age and heard all about the atrocities that they were put through by the Northern regime… that man is cuckoo and if you watch CNN they were allowed to visit there and all of their country men up North are taught and think we are the enemy and he is protecting them same for parts of Middle East this man has ZERO politics or military experience he won’t be around long to see the long-term effects of what he does. We should all be very scared the Russia influence yes scary but this going after North Korea Syria Iran/Iraq etc is more scary whoever lives in California better relocate.
I was losing my mind yesterday over “brought them to Holocaust centers.” BROUGHT. It sounds so gentle! HOLOCAUST CENTERS! Your one-stop shop for all your genocidal needs! Is this what happens when impressionable minds start to become warped by corporate executive euphemisms? The worst atrocities are rebranded into something palatable?
Spicer effed up, but it’s the unconscious sentiments leaking out of him that are really the most worrisome part. What he was trying to point out (I’m not sure why) is that Hitler, having experienced chemical weapons on the battlefield during WWI, did not use them on the battlefield in WWII. Somehow Spicer then decided that rounding up citizens for extermination in self-contained chambers after being tortured in camps was morally not as bad as a surprise genocide in the city. He bumbled his way into praising Hitler’s planning and execution, which is unbelievable. You can see how easily you get in trouble if you start ranking events in the atrocity olympics – your unconscious bias against people really starts showing.
To unpack that a bit, he said Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons against his own people. So the German Jews were therefore not real Germans? That’s the least subtle dog-whistle I’ve ever heard.
Likewise, he started to say something about Assad using the weapons against “innocent” people, implying the Jewish people were not innocent and therefore somehow deserved their treatment.
Why he thought it was a good idea to say a modern atrocity was worse than the Holocaust on PASSOVER is truly confounding.
As a Jew and a human being, it is hard to find the words to accurately express how ignorant and offensive this is. There are days of amazement on how ignorant the people in Emperor Baby Fists administration just are
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Sean Spicer is an idiot. And his bumbling attempts to dig his way out of the hole he jumped into only reinforce that. Malicious or not, he needs to go. Only doing the bidding of people even more clueless than he is, he still needs to go. Doesn’t the New Ambassador to Singapore need an Assistant? Trump does have ways of repurposing people who can’t cut the mustard. Bon voyage, Sean!
Disgusting! This is so so so so disgusting!
So Sean Spicer is calling Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, Dachau concentration camps Holocaust Centers? Centers? Like SPA Centers?
Do he even understand meaning of holocaust?
Read this – http://auschwitz.org/en/ and then talk about Holocaust Centers!
With comments like these Spicer needs to realize it’s not Bashar “worse than Hitler” Assad who is seen as some global threat, it’s USA under such uneducated and unhinged management which is seen in such light now. Also Trump could have done more damage to that Syrian airfield he ingloriously bombed if he’d bought it and ran it as a business…..
What a thought. War by means of putting Trump in charge of a business. It just might work.
Again the press is asking the wrong questions. Where did Spicer get the ideas that he spewed yesterday? Holocaust Centers? Hitler didn’t use gas attacks on his own people? Trump and Bannon. One reporter stated that in an interview, Trump was stating the same thing that Spicer said. As one person stated last night, Spicer needs to learn to tell Trump “no” or “I’m not saying that because it just absolutely ridiculous and wrong”. Is Trump blackmailing Spicer because why else would Spicer keep repeating these lies that make him look so silly. As one person stated, the problem with the WH is Trump, who is a pathological liar. Spicer needs to do his job instead of putting on a show for Trump. When Trump had him give that press release about his crowd size being over 5 million, Spicer should have quit.
Is it me or are the Trumps throwing every under the bus this week? Carter Page, Putin, Bannon, Spicer, and many others. What’s going on? It’s like Trump and his kids are having a meltdown trying to convince everyone that Trump doesn’t have ties with Russia.
and this is how things are WITH Trump having an orthodox jewish daughter and son-in-law. Are they this administration’s pass for being anti-semitic? Without them, would it actually be more overt? Or do they actually have little say in what goes on beyond creating photo-ops? Or are they trying to advocate but finding it impossible hence the photos of an extremely tired and overworked Kushner as banana republic model in a flak jacket in Iraq? Ever since Ivanka came out and basically said she wants all of the credit yet none of the blame, I’m not exactly sympathetic towards either of them, but this is a mess.
The fact you mention that Trump is throwing everyone else under the bus to convince us that he himself does not have ties to Russia – means that Trump really does have ties to Russia. Just as we know that conversations between his people and Russian officials were not innocent simply because they lie about even having those conversations. They must have been discussing something illegal or politically damaging or else they would freely admit the contacts and what was discussed.
This Russian connections thing is seeming more and more explosive every day, and it’s because Trump himself is leaving a trail of bread crumbs for us to follow. Every tweet, every interview, every press conference in person or by proxy gives new stimulus for more investigation.
So now we’re going to deny that the Holocaust happened? WTF people? He’s old enough to get that history lesson! He should be fired. He has no credibility left. Maybe he should go to Auschwitz for his next vacation. He can stay there overnight. They have plenty of rooms there for him!
Everyone in this administration is disgusting. But Soicer is a one man migraine trigger.
This drivel was written by an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier, and only an anti-Semite, Holocaust denier would willingly read it and make an argument for it. Spicer is reprehensible. There is no defense for this. It is immoral. We have to get Trump impeached and drive these demons back into the shadows where they belong!
Why even bring up Hitler? Are you mental?!
Yea how nice of Hitler to actually give a lovely train ride through the scenic countryside, provide accommodations and food before he gassed them in the luxury spa known as “Holocaust Centre”- yep Hitler is a standup, despotic guy. Man, history has it wrong with regards to Hitler!
There are some things that people should continue to feel disgust and horror at including the Holocaust and the Chemical Attacks by Assad against his own country people. I don’t know why Spice Boy over here thinks that both of these terrible moments of genocide need to be mutually exclusive?