Donald Trump, former President of the United States, speaks at the Rally To Protect Our Elections conference in Phoenix, Arizona, July 24, 2021. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Donald Trump, former US President, issued a statement condemning the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee, Confederate general.
Trump called General Lee (Confederate Army commander in Civil War) a "unifying force."
On Wednesday, the 12-ton statue Lee, Richmond, Virginia was taken down to the delight of all who saw it.
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Donald Trump, former US President, has condemned the removal of the towering statue in Richmond of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It was the largest Confederate statue in America.
The former president described the general as a "unifying force", and urged his soldiers to fulfill their duties and become good citizens of the Country.
He said that the US would have been better off if Lee had led the war in Afghanistan.
Trump wrote, "If we had Robert E. Lee as our commander in Afghanistan, that disaster could have ended in a complete victory many years ago."
"What embarrassment are we suffering because we lack the genius of Robert. E. Lee," Trump went on.
Lee led the Confederate Army in the Civil War, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. He fought for the Southerners' right to own Black people as their property.
This general is seen as a pivotal figure for white supremacists in America, who view him as a skilled military strategist who has brought the country together. According to Reuters, there were also clashes over plans to remove another Lee statue from Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
Trump stated in his statement that Robert E. Lee was "considered by many Generals as the greatest strategist among them all."
Trump's support for Confederate symbols is not new. He defended those who support the Confederate flag in 2020 by saying that they are not thinking about slavery.
As a cheering crowd cheered, the six-story, 12-ton statue Lee was taken down and temporarily relocated to a state facility.
Business Insider has the original article.
