Updated April 12, 2017 12:33:54

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has apologised for making "inappropriate and insensitive" comments, after he said Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons during World War II.

Mr Spicer had made the initial comments while speaking about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's use of poison gas.

In attempting to depict the horror of the chemical weapons attack last week in Syria, Mr Spicer told reporters that "We [the US and its allies] didn't use chemical weapons in World War II.

"You had someone as despicable as Hitler … who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."

The comments were at odds with Hitler's extermination of millions of Jews during the Holocaust using poison gas chambers.

In an interview following the briefing, Mr Spicer said he was trying to make a point about Mr Assad's use of chemical weapons and gas against his people.

"[I] mistakenly made an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust, for which there is no comparison," Mr Spicer told CNN, adding that his comments did not reflect the views of President Donald Trump.

"And for that I apologise. It was a mistake to do that."

The CNN interview later in the day capped several attempts by the White House to clarify Mr Spicer's statement.

Spicer stumbles trying to defend statement

During the press briefing, when asked by reporters to clarify his statement, Mr Spicer delivered a garbled defence in which he sought to redefine the meaning of "using chemical weapons" by differentiating between exterminating millions of people in gas chambers and killing dozens by dropping gas in a public space.

"I think when you come to sarin gas, there was no, he [Hitler] was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing," Mr Spicer said.

"I mean there was clearly … I understand your point, thank you … thank you … I appreciate that … there was not … he brought them [Jews] into the Holocaust centres I understand that."

Observers have speculated "Holocaust centres" is in reference to Hitler's concentration camps.

"But I'm saying in the way that Assad used them, where he went into towns … dropped them [gas bombs] down to innocent [people] … into the middle of towns … so the use of it," he mumbled.

"I appreciate the clarification there … that was not the intent."

The attack in northern Syria left nearly 90 people dead, and Turkey's Health Minister has said tests showed sarin gas was used.

Experts were quick to hold Mr Spicer to account in saying that according to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention definition, "using chemical weapons" is not restricted to dropping them in public spaces, and Hitler's industrial approach of using cyanide to systematically mass-murder millions of people certainly falls under the definition, even though the convention did not exist during WWII.

Immediately after the briefing, Mr Spicer emailed a statement to reporters justifying his statement but stopping short of apologising.

"In no way was I trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust," the statement said.

"I was trying to draw a distinction of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on population centres. Any attack on innocent people is reprehensible and inexcusable."

Jewish activists, critics call for Spicer's resignation

But despite Mr Spicer's statement withdrawal, critics remained unsatisfied and called for Mr Spicer's removal as press secretary, deeming him unfit for the job.

"Sean Spicer now lacks the integrity to serve as White House press secretary, and President Trump must fire him at once," said Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Centre for Mutual Respect.

US House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Mr Trump to reject Mr Spicer's assertion.

"Sean Spicer must be fired, and the President must immediately disavow his spokesman's statements," Ms Pelosi said in a statement.

Mr Spicer's comments came on the second day of Passover and a day after the White House held a Seder dinner marking the emancipation of the Jewish people, a tradition started during the Obama administration.

For years we have been aware of evidence that Bashar al-Assad may not have declared all of his chemical weapons stockpiles — and these strikes highlight the dilemma about what to do now, writes Matt Brown.

It was the second day in a row in which Mr Spicer appeared to have trouble articulating the President's foreign policy at a critical time.

The White House was forced to walk back remarks Mr Spicer made from the podium on Monday that the use of barrel bombs by Mr Assad's Government might lead to further military action by the United States.

In an exchange with reporters, Mr Spicer appeared to draw a new red line for the Trump administration when he told reporters if a country gasses a baby or it puts "a barrel bomb into innocent people, I think you will see a response from this president".

Until Monday the administration had maintained last week's airstrikes were in response to the Syrian Government's use of chemical weapons against its own citizens.

A White House spokesman later said "nothing has changed in our posture" and the President retains the option to act if it is in the national interest.

ABC/Wires

Topics: donald-trump, world-war-2, world-politics, united-states

First posted April 12, 2017 07:34:27