The president, flanked by Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer - a US-born former Republican operative close to U.S. conservatives - vowed to protect the Jewish people in the United States and overseas and criticized those who deny that the mechanized murder of 6 million Jews ever happened.
President Trump is scheduled to speak at the Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Day of Remembrance on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m.
"We must never, ever shrink away from telling the truth in our time".
"Those who deny the Holocaust are accomplices to this terrible evil", Trump said in a 15-minute address before a crowd of several hundred, including some survivors, at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Days of Remembrance event at the U.S. Capitol.
The centre houses a vast collection of artefacts by those who survived Adolf Hitler's massacre. During the ceremony, a Holocaust survivor lit six candles with a member of Congress.
On all matters pertaining to Israel, Trump is influenced by senior adviser Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, who helped him write a well-regarded speech on Israel during the primary campaign and has been the administration's chief liaison to the Jewish community.
In his speech, Trump sought to touch on all the issues that had plagued his presidency and troubled many in the Jewish community.
Now US president Donald Trump picks trade fight with Canada
Saskatchewan will export 225 million board feet of lumber to the USA this year, which is valued at approximately $114 million . Later Tuesday, Trump and Trudeau discussed the trade issues in a "very amicable" phone call, the White House said .
"This is my pledge to you: We will confront anti-Semitism", he said. It is the kind of gentle spirit of an angel who lived through hell and whose courage still lights the path from darkness, ' Trump said.
"We must stamp out prejudice and anti-Semitism everywhere it is found", he said. "We've seen anti-Semitism on university campuses, in the public square, and in threats against Jewish citizens".
Trump's speech commemorating the carnage of seven decades ago comes after some American Jewish groups and other critics of the president denounced two White House comments related to the Holocaust in the first three months of his White House tenure.
Spicer mentioned Hitler, whose regime gassed millions of Jews during the Holocaust, while making a point about reported chemical weapons use in Syria.
"Today, we mourn, we remember, we pray and we pledge: Never again".
The Anti-Defamation League's Jonathan Greenblatt called it "puzzling and troubling", even as the White House defended the statement as inclusive of all who suffered and Press Secretary Sean Spicer said "the president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust". "We know that in the end, good will triumphs over evil". If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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