US President Donald Trump has faced criticism for not mentioning Jewish people in his statement on Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Republican issued a statement that was picked apart by former national security adviser Susan Rice, who tweeted: "What sickness enables a statement on ‪#holocaustmemorialday that ignores 6 million Jews! Just imagine the response if Pres. Obama did that."

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The statement from the White House included quotes from Trump, who failed to specifically mention Jewish people.

"It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honour the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror," Trump said in a statement seen by The Hill.

"In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world," he added.

An estimated 6 million Jewish people were killed by the Nazis, accounting for around two thirds of the Jewish population living in Europe at the time.

Rice, and others, complained Trump's failure to specifically mention the atrocities committed against Jewish people was a failure to properly acknowledge the horrors of the holocaust.

She added in another tweet: "'Innocents' in statement [about Holocaust Memorial Day] refers to all civilians killed in WW2. Not genocide against jews. #whitewashinghistory."

Donald Trump