President Trump fires back in race row saying: Keep Civil War statues
DONALD Trump yesterday hit back at critics of his response to racial violence as he denounced the removal of “beautiful” US Civil War statues.
Donald Trump yesterday hit back at critics of his response to racial violence
President Trump said his nation’s history and culture were being “ripped apart” by the destruction of Confederate monuments.
Mr Trump, 71, has been engulfed in a growing storm since violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, which left one woman dead and dozens hurt.
The carnage happened after white supremacists gathered at a far-right rally to protest against the removal of a statue of General Robert E Lee, the commander of the pro-slavery Confederates during the Civil War.
Heather Heyer, 32, died after a car was driven into crowds as anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with neoNazis.
Yesterday, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can’t change history but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who’s next? Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!
“Also, the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!”
Mr Trump has been engulfed in a growing storm since violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia
Trump continues to argue both sides are to blame in Virginia
The recent removal of controversial statues has led to a rise in racial tensions across the US. Confederate statues and monuments are viewed by many Americans as symbols of hate but supporters say they are important landmarks preserving Southern heritage.
The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed
Yesterday, Paul LePage, the Republican Governor of Maine, said taking down Confederate statues is “just like” removing a monument to the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Mr Trump faced heavy criticism in the immediate wake of the unrest after he said there was blame on “many sides”.
He took two days to condemn the actions of the far-right groups before eventually branding the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists “repugnant to everything that we hold dear as Americans” on Monday.
The statue of General Robert E Lee
However, during a turbulent press conference at Trump Tower on Tuesday, the President appeared to have reverted to his previous stance.
He acknowledged there were “some very bad people” among the statue protesters, but added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
Mr Trump has been strongly rebuked by members of his Republican party over his remarks.
He took two days to condemn the actions of the far-right groups
He has also been snubbed by a string of American business leaders.
In his latest series of Twitter posts yesterday, Mr Trump showed no sign of backing down.
He criticised efforts in a growing number of US states to remove statues honouring Confederate leaders.