Texas Congressman Randy Weber caused a stir on Twitter after sending out a tweet that compared Obama to Hitler. While the U.S. president has earned widespread criticism for failing to attend a unity rally in Paris following a terrorist attack, Weber's "Hitler" reference may have crossed the line.
Congressional Democrats and the Jewish community condemned the Twitter comment that Weber sent through his official account on Monday, Jan. 12.
"Even Adolph Hitler (sic) thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris. (For all the wrong reasons.) Obama couldn't do it for right reasons," tweeted Weber. The tweet referred to Germany's occupation of Paris back in 1940.
In reaction to his tweet, Weber received more than 1,000 retweets and was mentioned about 4,000 times.
The next day, Democratic Congressman Steve Israel demanded an apology from Weber for sending out the tweet.
"Rep. Weber's tweet is vile and stoops to a new low level by desecrating the victims of the Holocaust to make a political point," said Israel.
A number of prominent Republicans slammed President Obama for his absence at the Paris peace rally. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also expressed his criticism when he gave out a speech.
"Where was the president? Where was the vice president? Where was the secretary of state? Where was the attorney general who'd been there moments before but chose to get on a plane and fly back home," said Cruz.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest expressed that the White House should at least have sent someone in a higher profile to join the rally.
The next day after sending out the tweet, Weber apologized for making the comparison.
"It was not my intention to trivialize the Holocaust nor to compare the President to Adolf Hitler," said Weber. "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."
The Paris peace rally on Sunday was estimated to have an attendance of 1.5 million people. Among the 40 world leaders that also attended were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
