White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defended President Donald Trump against critics who said he failed to mention the suffering of Jews in his Holocaust Remembrance Day statement Friday.
"The president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust and the suffering that went through it, and the people that were affected by it, and the loss of life," Spicer said during Monday's daily press briefing. "And to make sure that America never forgets what so many people went through, whether they were Jews or gypsies, gays, disability . . . priests."
The statement was written "with the help of an individual who is both Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust survivors," Spicer said, though he would not say whether that person is Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is serving as a top White House adviser.
Spicer's comments came in answer to a question from Newsmax's John Gizzi, who asked whether Trump had a response to critics such as Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein calling Trump's omission of Jewish suffering "painful."
The idea of anyone "nitpicking this statement that sought to remember this tragic event that occurred, and the people who died in it, is just ridiculous," Spicer said.
The State of Israel and the Jewish people have had "no better friend than Donald Trump," Spicer said, "especially after the last eight years" of the Obama administration. "And to suggest anything otherwise is frankly disappointing."
The administration does not regret the way the original statement was worded, and "we'll never forget the Jewish people who suffered in World War II," White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told Sunday's "Meet the Press."
Trump's three-paragraph Holocaust Remembrance Day statement read:
"It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.
"Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.
"In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world."