Spicer wishes Indians ‘Happy Independence Day’ – in June

Washington, June 24 (IANS) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in another gaffe has wished Indians a happy Independence Day -- two months in advance.

At a press briefing ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, when Spicer was asked about the Monday meeting between US President Donald Trump and Modi, he said: "Well, first, I want to wish the people of India a happy 70th anniversary on their independence."

The White House Press Secretary isn't new to gaffes. He got off to a bad start in his press role when Trump's aide Kellyanne Conway declared that he had been using "alternative facts" when estimating Trump inauguration's attendance figures.

As he wobbled over ridership numbers for Trump's day versus Barack Obama's, Spicer defended his previous statements by saying "sometimes we can disagree with the facts".

Spicer also "embarrassed" the administration when he called Canadian leader Justin Trudeau as "Prime Minster Joe Trudeau of Canada" during a press briefing in February.

Around the same time Spicer also mispronounced Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's surname as "Trumball".

More than once, he talked about the President trying to "destabilise" the Middle East.

The White House Press Secretary also entirely invented a terrorist attack, regularly speaking about an attack on Atlanta that never actually happened.

Later, Spicer made headlines in April for a gaffe regarding the use of chemical weapons, in which he appeared to claim that Adolf Hitler "never stooped" to using chemical weapons on "his own people".

People immediately thought of the Holocaust, where Hitler's regime did in fact use chemical weapons against "his own people". Spicer retracted the remark at the briefing, and made a formal apology later.