Rep. Kevin Cramer, a possible challenger to North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, said Wednesday that White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s analogy between Adolf Hitler and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “not without some validity.”
“The media is so gullible, they fall for these things because they think it’s really hot stuff and the public just can’t wait to stick it to Sean Spicer — who 99% of the people wouldn’t have the foggiest idea who he is and it distracts them from other things,” Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said Wednesday KFYR-FM with conservative radio North Dakota host Scott Hennen. “I can’t even believe that anybody in the media, much less all of the major networks, led with this story. A spokesperson, who by the way made a poor illustration, but it’s not completely, it’s not without some validity.”
Cramer was played a clip of Spicer again apologizing for saying of Assad, “you had someone who was as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.”
Hennen played a clip of Spicer apologizing for the remarks Wednesday, during an event at The Newseum.
“On a professional level it’s disappointing because I think I’ve let the President down,” Spicer said Wednesday. “And so, on both a personal level and professional level that will definitely go down as not a very good day in my, my history.”
Cramer initially said “I think he apologized and that’s the end of it.” But Hennen pressed him for more, saying of Spicer, “I think what he was saying is that Hitler didn’t take chemical weapons out in a battle-like form and do what Assad did with these children.”
Cramer replied, “It’s a factual statement.”
The North Dakota Republican is the state’s lone congressman and has frequently been mentioned as a likely contender for Republicans looking to win back the Senate seat held by Heitkamp. Cramer, who advised President Donald Trump on energy issues during the transition and the campaign, has said Trump has asked him to run for the seat. But Cramer has not yet said if he will enter the race.
When CNN reached out to Cramer for additional comment Wednesday, he replied, “My point is the media is making a big deal out of a poor illustration by a spokesperson who apologized.”
“A very poor illustration even if technically true,” Cramer said. “Not an excuse, for which, he apologized. But the media is obsessed with any little thing they can exaggerate about Trump.”
