After President Obama delivered his controversial speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, the White House defended it on principle, encouraging everyone who was upset about his remarks about Christians to look at the speech in context.

One White House aide is now admitting that Obama’s remarks were more controversial than they expected.

“We knew it would be thought-provoking,” said one Obama aide to Yahoo News, who requested anonymity. “But no, we didn’t think the reaction would be a ‘crap storm.’”

During his speech, Obama reminded Christians of the Crusades, suggesting that they get off of their “high horse” when judging other religions and their relationship with violence.