President Donald Trump went on a tangent on Civil War history in the home state of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee during his Make America Great Again rally in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday night.
“So Robert E. Lee was a great general. And Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia,” Trump began the history lesson after praising Ohio-born President William McKinley, “He couldn’t beat Robert E. Lee. He was going crazy. I don’t know if you know this story, but Robert E. Lee was winning battle after battle after battle. And Abraham Lincoln came home, he said, ‘I can’t beat Robert E. Lee.'”
Trump then went on to say that despite having “the greatest people” in its army, the North “didn’t know how the hell to win, they didn’t know how to fight.” Which is why, according to Trump, Lincoln turned to Ohio’s own General Ulysses S. Grant. He said that Grant “was incredible, he drank a little bit too much, you know who I’m talking about” and that he went on to “knock the hell out of everyone.”
“They said to Lincoln, ‘You can’t use [Grant] anymore, he’s an alcoholic.’ And Lincoln said, ‘I don’t care if he’s an alcoholic, frankly, give me six or seven more just like him.’ He started to win,” Trump told the fired up crowd.
Trump also spoke directly to black voters during the rally and told them, “Get away from the Democrats. Think of it: We have the best numbers in history … I think we’re going to get the African American vote, and it’s true.” Trump, however, offered no evidence to support this assertion.
In 2017, Trump also expressed support for the Confederate general when he tweeted about statues being taken down in the South by anti-racist protesters.
Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
…can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
…the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
A collateral descendant of General Lee, Robert Lee IV, posted a video on Twitter in response to Trump, saying he was “disheartened” and “saddened” at Trump’s comments. He added that Lee “fought for the continued enslavement of black bodies” and told voters to show Trump that “white supremacy has no place in any parlors of our government.”
My response to @realDonaldTrump and his comments last night about my collateral ancestor, Robert E. Lee. pic.twitter.com/ISw6nMspZ1
— Rev. Rob Lee (@roblee4) October 13, 2018
A parody Ulysses S. Grant Twitter account offered a more humorous response: “Look, I drank whiskey, I liked whiskey, I still like whiskey… and I beat Robert E. Lee.”
Look, I drank whiskey, I liked whiskey, I still like whiskey… and I beat Robert E. Lee.
— Ulysses S. Grant (@POTUS_UG) October 13, 2018
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