Rep. Randy Weber apologizes for Obama-Hitler tweet

A Texas congressman is apologizing for a tweet in which he tied President Obama’s failing to go to France for Sunday’s unity rally to Adolf Hitler.

“I need to first apologize to all those offended by my tweet,” GOP Rep. Randy Weber said in a statement Tuesday. “It was not my intention to trivialize the Holocaust nor to compare the president to Adolf Hitler. The mention of Hitler was meant to represent the face of evil that still exists in the world today. I now realize that the use of Hitler invokes pain and emotional trauma for those affected by the atrocities of the Holocaust and victims of anti-Semitism and hate.”

In the tweet, Mr. Weber had written: “Even Adolph Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris. (For all the wrong reasons.) Obama couldn’t do it for right reasons.”

The White House said Monday that they should have sent a higher-ranking official to the march, held in the wake of a recent string of terror attacks, from the U.S., which was represented by U.S. Ambassador to France Jane Hartley.

Mr. Weber continued in the statement that the recent terrorist attacks in Paris “should remind us of the evil that still exists.”

“Hitler was the face of evil, perpetrating genocide against six million Jews and millions of other victims. Today, we are facing the evil of Islamic extremists who are attempting to instill fear and murdering the lives of innocent people from Paris to Nigeria to Jerusalem and all over the world,” he said. “The president’s actions or lack thereof is my point of contention. Islamic extremists have shown they are not going away, and instead are hungry for more blood.”

He said after World War II, the world made a commitment to “never again” allow terror “free reign” and as demonstrated by the rally, “we must all -Christians, Jews, Muslims, leaders around the world and those willing to fight for freedom - unite and stand strong together against radical extremism in any form.”