A newly-appointed adviser to President Barack Obama apologized on Wednesday to likening the GOP to the Jonestown cult, which resulted in the massacre of hundreds of people, Philly.com reported.
The comment made in the fall by Podesta, a former official in the Clinton administration, was recently quoted in Politico Magazine. He suggested the Obama administration should be focusing on executive action because it is "facing a second term against a cult worthy of Jonestown in charge of one of the houses of Congress."
After the quick backlash that erupted from his remark -- specifically from the office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) -- Podesta used his Twitter account to apologize.
"In an old interview, my snark got in front of my judgment. I apologize to Speaker Boehner, whom I have always respected."
Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, condemned Podesta's comment featured in the article.
"If this is the attitude of the new White House, it's hard to see how the president gets anything done again," Buck said.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney added that his comparison does "not reflect the approach he has taken in his past or will take when he arrives here at the White House."
"Jonestown" is the informal name that refers to the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project that was led by Jim Jones. On November 18, 1978, a total of 918 people died at the group's settlement in Guyana in a "revolutionary suicide."
In addition to organized massacre, Congressman Leo Ryan (D-CA) was assassinated by members of the Peoples Temple as he tried to save two individuals that reached out to him for help. Ryan's then-aide Jackie Spier (elected to Congress in 2008) was also shot five times but survived.
