Another Hitler analogy gone awry? How is it possible? During a briefing with reporters, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer compared the use of chemicals by Hitler and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria:

"We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II," Mr. Spicer said. "You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."

When a reporter questioned the statement, Spicer may have made things worse:

"I think when you come to sarin gas, he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing."

He then said people came into "Holocaust centers."

He tried to fix it: "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, but that didn't do it." Finally, he gave a fuller apology during an interview, although The New York Times calls it "contrite."

Image source.

Discussion:

• Where did Spicer go wrong? Do you find his comments offensive? Why or why not?
• What's your assessment of his apology in the NBC News interview? Do you find it "contrite," as The New York Times says?