Sean Spicer, the Newsmax show host who served as the White House press secretary under Donald Trump in 2017, wanted to commemorate the important World War II date of Dec. 7, but he only got the “infamy” part right.
On Wednesday, he tweeted, “Today is Dday. It only lives in infamy if we remember and share the story of sacrifice with the next generation.”
Of course, Dec. 7 is the date in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Naval Station in Hawaii, provoking the U.S. to finally enter World War II. D-Day, when Allied Forces successfully landed on Normandy Beach to turn the tide of the war, was June 6, 1944.
The historic quote he botched is from then-President Franklin Roosevelt, who called the surprise Pearl Harbor bombing “a date which will live in infamy.”
Spicer was roundly mocked for the mix-up, with comments like, “Not surprised. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie either,” and, “Spoiler: D Day is June 6. Today lives in infamy not because of Sean Spicer’s idiocy, but because it was the day he learned that Normandy is nowhere near Pearl Harbor.”
Another person quipped, “this guy wasn’t even Trump’s worst Press Secretary.”
Spicer did, however, apologize after the error was pointed out, writing, “Sorry. Apologies.”
The error was especially embarrassing considering that Spicer was a United States Navy Reserve public affairs officer and currently holds the rank of Commander.
Last year, he remembered D-Day well enough to attack Joe Biden for not mentioning the historic date, tweeting “Yesterday was the anniversary of #DDay – no mention of it from the president. The White House press secretary says he might get around to it.”
Spicer, who competed on “Dancing With the Stars” after his White House exit, is currently an anchor on Newsmax.