Donald Trump has spoken out against Holocaust deniers as he sought to rebuild relations with the Jewish community following a series of damaging gaffes from him and his administration.
In a speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at the US Capitol, Trump addressed an audience that included Holocaust survivors as well as the Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer and the president's Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Trump said that millions of innocent people were imprisoned and executed by the Nazis. 'Yet, even today, there are those who want to forget the past,' he said. 'Worse still, there are even those filled with such hate, total hate, that they want to erase the Holocaust from history. Those who deny the Holocaust are an accomplice to this horrible evil. And we'll never be silent – we just won't – we will never, ever be silent in the face of evil again.'
The comments, which were met with applause, came after Trump was criticised after an official White House statement to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day failed to mention Jews, his spokesman Sean Spicer claimed that unlike the Syrian president Bashar Assad, Hitler did not use chemical weapons against 'his own people' and Trump himself described far-right Marine Le Pen as the 'strongest' candidate in the French election.
Trump also highlighted recent incidents of antisemitism, including on university campuses. 'Even worse, it's been on display in the most sinister manner when terrorists attack Jewish communities, or when aggressors threaten Israel with total and complete destruction,' he added.
'This is my pledge to you: we will confront antisemitism. We will stamp out prejudice. We will condemn hatred. We will bear witness. And we will act. As president of the United States, I will always stand with the Jewish people – and I will always stand with our great friend and partner, the state of Israel.'
Characteristically, Trump also made unscripted remarks. 'You saw the organised attempt at the extermination of an entire people,' he said, adding: 'And great people, I must add.'
One of the Holocaust survivors present was Manny Mandel, a Lithuanian-born retired psychotherapist who spent part of his childhood in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The 81-year-old said later: 'I'm not a supporter of the president but I must say I was very impressed by the delivery, by the composition and by the whole spirit of how he did. I think I've not been as impressed by him ever before today.'
Mandel added: 'I was very pleasantly surprised. I thought the man was on target. I thought the man said all the right things.'
