WASHINGTON: Donald Trump Jr. sought on Thursday to clarify his remark that the media would be "warming up the gas chamber" if the Republican Party behaved the same way as the Democrats during the US presidential campaign, saying it was a reference to capital punishment, not the Nazi-led Holocaust.
Trump, the son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, spoke to NBC News after the Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism, asked him to retract his statement.
"Trivialization of the Holocaust and gas chambers is NEVER okay," the Anti-Defamation League tweeted.
John Podesta, the chair of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, told reporters on a call that the wording of Trump's remark was "extremely insensitive, divisive and probably pretty consistent with the kind of rhetoric he heard around the house when he was growing up."
"I think it's never acceptable to use language like that," Podesta added.
Nazis used gas chambers during World War Two to kill millions of Jews imprisoned in European concentration camps.
Trump made the "gas chamber" remark during an interview with a Philadelphia radio station on Thursday morning to explain how the media would react if the Republican Party had intervened in the nominating contest the way the Democratic Party has been accused of doing to benefit Clinton over former party rival US Senator Bernie Sanders.
"Without the media, this wouldn't even be a contest, but the media has built her up, they've let her slide on every discrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game, trying to get Bernie Sanders out of the thing," Trump said.
"If Republicans were doing that, they'd be warming up the gas chamber right now," the nominee's son added.
Trump's campaign said the uproar over the comment was another example of bias among the media covering the presidential campaign.
"Don Jr. was clearly referring to capital punishment to make the case that the media continues to take words out of context in order to serve as the propaganda arm of the Hillary Clinton campaign," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in an email.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Trump, the son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, spoke to NBC News after the Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism, asked him to retract his statement.
"Trivialization of the Holocaust and gas chambers is NEVER okay," the Anti-Defamation League tweeted.
John Podesta, the chair of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, told reporters on a call that the wording of Trump's remark was "extremely insensitive, divisive and probably pretty consistent with the kind of rhetoric he heard around the house when he was growing up."
Nazis used gas chambers during World War Two to kill millions of Jews imprisoned in European concentration camps.
Advertisement
"Without the media, this wouldn't even be a contest, but the media has built her up, they've let her slide on every discrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game, trying to get Bernie Sanders out of the thing," Trump said.
Advertisement
Trump's campaign said the uproar over the comment was another example of bias among the media covering the presidential campaign.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2016
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Kamala Harris Is Barely Competent, Says Donald Trump Ahead Of Debate Donald Trump Wants Party To Be "Reimbursed" For Spending Money Campaigning Against Joe Biden Trump 'Owns Republicans' Now, Critics Wary Of Unchecked Quest For Power Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan 3 Days After Big Order On Deposits With SBI And PNB, Karnataka Hits Pause US Warns Iran Faces "Cataclysmic" Consequences If It Strikes Israel 20 Coaches Of Sabarmati Express Train Derail In UP, No Casualties Two Sisters Returning From Court Run Over By Car In UP: Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.