White House hits Donald Trump after he accused Democrats of running a 'Gestapo administration'

The Biden administration lashed out at Former President Donald Trump after he accused Democrats of running a "Gestapo administration," a reference to Nazi Germany.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said President Joe Biden is focused on bringing Americans together, "instead of echoing the appalling rhetoric of fascists, lunching with Neo Nazis, and fanning debunked conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officer their lives."

Human rights groups have frequently denounced Trump for invoking Nazi and fascist imagery, in this case while attacking the four criminal trials pending against him. Trump has often called the sweeping indictments he faces "election interference," though there is no election that Biden or other officials are targeting his reelection bid.

In a close-door retreat to Republican donors over the weekend, Trump said: “These people are running a Gestapo administration. And it’s the only thing they have. And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion, and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me.”

Multiple outlets obtained audio of the remarks. The former president's comments came a day before Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began Sunday night.

Trump, who is under a gag order in his New York hush money trial that resumes Monday, did not single out a particular judge or prosecutor while using the term "Gestapo."

Jewish groups also quickly criticized Trump's comment. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said in a statement  “It’s always wrong, offensive, and despicable to make comparisons like this — even more so when taken alongside the former president’s long history of normalizing antisemitism, from the ‘fine people’ in Charlottesville to his embrace of deadly conspiracy theories and tropes."

In speaking to donors, Trump also used an obscenity to describe special counsel Jack Smith, who is in charge of Trump prosecutions involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The former president also criticized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting a state-level election case against the former president in Georgia.

In addition to raising money for Trump's campaign, the Republican donor retreat also served as an audition of sorts for Trump's various vice presidential candidates.

One of those candidates, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, later tried to downplay Trump's "Gestapo" comment.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Burgum said the reference was "a short comment deep into" a 90-minute campaign speech that covered a number of topics.

Burgum added: "I think that it's reasonable that someone who's being kept off the campaign trail as the presumptive nominee has got some frustration about that."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden admin hits Donald Trump after 'Gestapo administration' comments