Texas lawmaker apologizes for offensive Obama-Hitler tweet

Rep. Randy Weber apologized Tuesday for a tweet invoking Adolf Hitler as he tried to criticize President Obama.


“I need to apologize to all those offended by my tweet,” the Texas Republican said in a statement. “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.”

Weber posted his original tweet Monday night after Obama was roundly criticized for not appearing at an anti-terrorism rally in Paris that drew millions of people and dozens of world leaders. (The congressman has since deleted that post from Twitter.)

White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged the administration “should have sent someone with a higher profile” to represent the United States at the event, held Sunday to show solidarity after terrorists killed 17 people in France. Earnest had no comment Tuesday about Weber.

Weber said in his statement the attacks in France should “remind us of the evil that still exists” in America. In explaining his original tweet, the congressman said he was trying to put the spotlight on Obama’s “actions or lack thereof” in the face of terrorist threats.

“Islamic extremists have shown they are not going away, and instead are hungry for more blood,” said Weber, who is a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

Only in his second term, Weber has already developed a reputation for making inflammatory comments often directed at Obama. He was roundly criticized Tuesday by Jewish groups and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which called his original tweet “vile and insulting.”