While campaigning in the swing state of Pennsylvania, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke about the Battle of Gettysburg and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Trump said of the famous battle that “it was so much and so interesting and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways. It represented such a big portion of the success of this country.”
Note: The Battle of Gettysburg, which was won by the Union Army, was “the Civil War’s bloodiest battle, claiming over 50,000 combined casualties over three days.” Commemorating it afterwards, President Abraham Lincoln produced the 272 words of the Gettysburg Address, one of the most famous and revered speeches in American history.
Trump also noted that Lee “is no longer in favor.”
So @realDonaldTrump Gettysburg was “Beautiful” and “it represented such a big portion of the success of this country.” Really?
Oh and “Robert E. Lee is no longer in favor”! Do you know why he is no longer in favor? Because he was a damn insurrectionist! On June 7, 1865, Robert E.… https://t.co/VUxRNPfLjR
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) April 14, 2024
Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele responded to Trump’s recent speech and his reference to Lee: “Do you know why he is no longer in favor? Because he was a damn insurrectionist! On June 7, 1865, Robert E. Lee was indicted for treason, and charged with ‘wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously’ carrying on war against the Constitution and the ‘peace and dignity’ of the United States of America. Sound familiar? You have no idea what the hell actually happened at Gettysburg.”
Note: U.S. President Andrew Jackson granted a full pardon to Lee for “the offense of treason against the United States during the Late Civil War.”
In 2017, the removal of a statue of Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, sparked a deadly white nationalist riot. Then president, Trump condemned the violence but drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans who said the president did not deliver an adequate condemnation of white supremacists.
Trump later explained his view of his response, saying of Lee: “Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals. I have spoken to many generals here, right at the White House, and many people thought of the generals, they think maybe he was their favorite general. People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that.”