Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday backed off his comparison of President Obama’s handshake with Cuban leader Raul Castro to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s handshake with Adolf Hitler.

McCain admitted on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the comparison was a “gross exaggeration.”

“I think it was exaggeration but have no doubt that was a great propaganda value for the Cuban government, which is oppressive, repressive, continues to jail dissidents and continues to be one of, probably easily, the most repressive governments in our hemisphere,” McCain said.