The Trump administration has been under public fire by many in the media since the day that the newly elected president took office. Complaints have ranged from controversial comments made during the campaign season–derogatory comments directed at women and statements condemning some illegal immigrants among the most notable. Other individuals criticized Trump’s policies; liberals remain concerned that the president is undoing many Obama-era regulations while conservatives lambast his consistent reneging on campaign promises. Some of policy reversals have been previously discussed in this blog, namely Trump’s emphatic Obamacare repeal claims and his support of non-intervention in the Syrian Civil War. Unable to act on many campaign promises, Trump has left many of his supporters unfulfilled.  While policy disagreements may have held back the Trump administration over the course of the president’s first few months in office, I argue that a disorganized staff has also deferred action on Trump’s campaign promises.

Perhaps the most notable instance of this domestic inhibiting is White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s most recent gaffe. On Tuesday, Spicer attempted to defend the United States military strikes on the Syrian Airbase following King Assad’s usage of banned nerve agents on civilians. On the Jewish holiday Passover, the press secretary

promulgated, “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” This clearly false statement led CNN to parenthetically cite that Hitler gassed millions during his time as leader of the Third Reich.

Spicer quickly acknowledged his verbal screw-up, apologizing for his insensitivity towards the Jewish community. Holocaust denial is concerned an offense of the highest magnitude to Jewish individuals; it represents complete ignorance of the millions of lives lost during World War II due to their religious affiliations. Media outlets, grassroots campaigns, and lobbyists quickly pounced on Spicer’s misworded claim. Indeed, Think Progress published a piece expressing the danger of the press secretary’s Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. While the organization did not directly call for Spicer’s firing, they cited these demands from the Anne Frank Center For Mutual Respect.

Immediate backlash for these claims prompted a series of Statements from the White House. The most overarching apology came Wednesday as Spicer spoke directly about his mishap. In a previously scheduled speech, Spicer lamented on his “inexcusable and reprehensible” behavior. Expanding on his remorse, the press secretary continued by saying, “It really is painful to myself to know that I did something like that. That obviously was not my intention.” Although this apology may have alleviated some of the impending backlash on the grounds of anti-Semitism, it cannot eradicate the scar it leaves on the Trump White House.

So, what should we take from Spicer’s comments? Although strong reactions from liberal Democrats have thrown around syntax such as “Holocaust denial” and “antisemitism,” it is highly unlikely the press secretary engaged in either of these subjects. Instead, it is probable that Trump’s chosen spokesperson simply made an egregious gaffe without any harmful intentions. Spicer is not ignorant of the Holocaust; he is ignorant of the sensitivity surrounding the Third Reich and did not think through his verbiage.

While isolated incidents are almost inevitable for any presidential administration–constant public attention highlights any mistakes high-ranking government officials make–controversial press statements have plagued the Trump presidency on numerous occasions. Spicer landed himself in a similar situation after Trump’s inauguration. It was less than three months ago that the press secretary defended president Trump’s claim that he had the largest inaugural crowd size in history. Similar rounds of media backlash parsed the White House after this statement, citing the administration’s voluntary spreading of false information. Though blame for this incident primarily rests on the president’s inaccurate claim, Spicer chose to amplify the lie to the American public.

Many of these controversial statements have yet to offer any tangible harm. The worry, however, is that these ignorant statements and press briefings may translate into ignorant policy. Although fringe groups and individuals have interpreted these controversial claims in a maleficent way, the broader audience sees these statements as evidence of administrative stupidity. For these recurring controversial incidents show a lack of cohesion amongst those in the White House; it appears as an administration that acts before the planned consensus of cabinet officials. When translated to the realm of policy reform, this ineffectiveness yields another reason why Trump has yet to fulfill on the most basic of his campaign promises.

An administration plagued with controversy is affected far more than in approval ratings. Backlash–from media entities, individuals, and grassroots campaigns–inhibits the implementation of any political agenda, and slows down any existing presidential processes. These issues serve to highlight an administrative structural issue in the most prestigious branch of American government. If the Trump white house wants to successfully institute policy reforms for the American electorate, they must first amend their disorganized structure.