April Ryan, the Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, did a double take at Tuesdayβs White House press briefing when press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that Adolf Hitler never used chemical weapons.
Ryan, wearing a white top and glasses in the video above, can be seen looking around the room and shaking her head as Spicer expanded on his comments that Hitler βdidnβt even sink to using chemical weapons.β
Spicer was comparing the Nazi leaderβs actions to those of Syrian President Bashar Assad while discussing last weekβs chemical attack in Idlib Province.
β[Hitler] was not using gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing,β Spicer said, saying Hitler βbrought them into the Holocaust centers,β apparently referring to the gas chambers.
Washington Post reporter Ashley Parker had an equally notable eyebrow raise:
Spicer was criticized last month for telling Ryan to stop shaking her head while he answered a question about an investigation into the Trump administrationβs ties to Russia. Spicer said he was βastonishedβ people were upset over the incident, saying he didnβt treat Ryan any differently than any other reporter.
Spicer initially tried to walk back his Holocaust comments. But in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN Tuesday, he acknowledged, βI mistakenly used an insensitive reference to the Holocaust. For that I apologize, It was a mistake to do that.β
This story has been updated to include Sean Spicerβs apology.