Huckabee,

a rightwing populist with a strong appeal in evangelical circles, finished second in the Republican primaries in 2008 after winning the Iowa caucus. He went on to work as a host for Fox News.

Running for the White House a second time, he is lagging in the 16-strong GOP field, which was led in a CNN poll released on Sunday by Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Only the top 10 GOP candidates will participate in the first debate, in Cleveland on 6 August 2016.

In its statement, the National Justice Defence Center (NJDC) added that though “it is almost pointless to demand Governor Huckabee apologize for his remarks”, other Republican candidates should do just that.

“Republicans have fallen over themselves to speak out against Donald Trump’s outrageous rhetoric on immigration and veterans,” the NJDC said. “Will they now do the same and speak out against this unacceptable attack against President Obama that smears the memory of Holocaust victims … or will they stand by in silence and implicit approval?”