Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) tried everything to explain away Donald Trump’s condemned weekend rally claim that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America by first saying it wasn’t Hitler-esque, then claiming he “didn’t hear” what Trump had said, subsequently criticizing the comment, later dismissing it as “campaign bravado” and finally blaming the rhetoric on Trump being from New York.

And it was all in the space of a short interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta in which he also said that Republican 2024 front-runner Trump had his backing if he wins the GOP nomination.

Burchett initially acknowledged the criticism that Trump’s comment was reminiscent of something that would have been said by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

“I have one rule in my office, it says you never compare anything to the Holocaust or Hitler except the Holocaust or Hitler because of the horrendous nature of that time-period,” said Burchett.

“Do you think Trump should knock this off?” asked Acosta.

“Well, any kind of comparison to [Hitler’s book] ‘Mein Kampf’ I think is pretty horrendous actually,” he replied. “I wasn’t there. I didn’t hear what he said. Honestly, this is about the first I’ve heard of it because I just don’t usually follow the national media maybe as well as I should.”

Acosta asked Burchett if he’d like to be on “a campaign stage with the former president if he’s saying something like immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country or even undocumented immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country?”

“That’s extreme for me. Completely. I would not have chosen those words,” said Burchett.

But Burchett said he’d “absolutely” back Trump if won the GOP nomination.

Burchett latest suggested Trump’s language was “campaign bravado” and appeared to suggest it was because Trump is from New York.

“As you well know, I’m from eastern Tennessee, we don’t usually talk like that, and he’s from New York, and that’s the way folks, he’s Trump being Trump,” said Burchett. “It’s campaign bravado. You get up onstage. You’re feeding off the audience, and you just let it rip. That’s exactly what he does, and frankly, that’s why a lot of people like him. That’s why you’re seeing his numbers are going up even…”

Acosta suggested it wasn’t “just campaign talk” but “something different.”