MSNBC/ABC
Sean Spicer.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made the puzzling claim that unlike Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Adolf Hitler never stooped to the level of using chemical weapons. He was referring to the gas attack in Syria earlier this month that killed dozens, including young children.This is false. Hitler infamously gassed millions of Jewish people, LGBTQ people, and others during World War II.
The reaction to Spicer's comments instantly spread through social media. And the awkward moment was red meat for the late-night shows.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" took on the task of imagining what was going on in Spicer's head when he made the comments.
"If you listen very closely you can almost hear the voice inside his head," Kimmel said.
Footage of Spicer's comments were then played on the show. The shot tightens while the audio lowers on Spicer to reveal Spicer's "inner voice."
"Oh no, did I just defend Hitler? Hitler!" the voice says.
"At press secretary school the one rule was never defend Hitler," he goes on to say. "Of course Hitler gassed people. I learned that in high school. We all did. What the hell are you doing, Sean?"
After the footage Kimmel said, "Sean Spicer might be the only press secretary who needs a press secretary."
Spicer tried to clarify his comments by saying that Hitler was "not using the gas on his own people, the same way that Assad was doing," which only led to more scorn on social media. He later apologized for his comments, though he made two more unfortunate blunders in doing that.
Watch Kimmel showing Spicer's "inner voice" below: