News · moment 4 of 15

Sean Spicer's Hitler Gaffe

from A Nuanced Man · #40

Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.

3 min

News

Tim and Ray dissect Sean Spicer's botched comparison about Hitler not using chemical weapons 'on his own people,' debating whether it was a genuine gaffe or overblown outrage given the Holocaust context.

In this bit8 moments
  • 15:47Tim explains the cycle of American military intervention destabilizing countries, then forcing taxpayers to subsidize refugees fleeing those regions.
  • 16:12U.S. foreign policy mistakes span from Iraq regime change to bleeding resources on the Mujahideen throughout the 1980s.
  • 16:50Most people discussing politics lack basic knowledge of how current events developed, getting their news only from Twitter.
  • 17:11Tim admits the Trump administration is cartoonish, though Hillary Clinton would likely handle certain issues better.
  • 17:27Sean Spicer made an awkward statement about Hitler and chemical weapons that wasn't intended as a joke.
  • 17:41Hitler used gas on people, but the distinction Spicer attempted—about what wasn't used in concentration camps—technically matters yet sounds absurd from a press secretary.
  • 18:12Making a hyper-technical point about Hitler's chemical weapons is a terrible blunder for a press secretary regardless of intent.
  • 18:24Tim acknowledges Spicer is an idiot, but the press and public rightfully jump on press secretaries who make Holocaust-adjacent statements.
Mentioned here

Sean SpicerTrump administrationIraq WarHillary Clinton

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