White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Wednesday said his gaffe about the Holocaust “let the President down” and was “reprehensible,” especially because “it’s a very holy week.”

“Of all weeks, this compounds that kind of mistake,” ​Spicer told host Greta Van Susteren during an interview at the Newseum in Washington, DC​. “It really is painful to myself because that obviously was not my intention.​”​

​Christians around the world are celebrating “Holy Week,” the period between Palm Sunday and the Saturday before Easter. ​

But Jews are observing Passover, one of the holiest times of the year.

​At a press briefing on Tuesday, Spicer said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is worse than Adolf Hitler​, who gassed millions of Jews during the Holocaust,​because the Nazi dictator never used chemical weapons​ on his people​.

“Someone who is as despicable as Hitler didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” he said.

Asked to clarify his remarks, Spicer dug the hole deeper.

“When it comes to sarin gas [Hitler] was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing,” he said, then continued: “He brought them into Holocaust centers.”​

“There’s no comparing atrocities,” Spicer said on Wednesday. “I would ask for folks’ forgiveness.”

Spicer said he hasn’t talked to the president about his unforced error yet, but said he was also sorry he created a “distraction” for Trump who has an “unbelievable couple of weeks of accomplishments.”

“I’ve let the president down​ ​…​ ​that will definitely go down as not a good day in my history​,​”​ he said.​

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