GOP/RACISM/RALLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee at a rally in Ohio Friday [10-12-18] night during a soliloquy in which he also praised a number of Ohioans, including Union General Ulysses S. Grant…Trump added that the frustrated Lincoln was forced to turn to Grant to finally deliver a victory for the Union and to end the Civil War. While his praise of Lee, who was not from Ohio, came in his build-up of Grant, who was, Civil War history has been fraught territory for Trump and key members of his administration, particularly in a time when many of the monuments of Lee and other Southern generals are being targeted for removal. White House chief of staff John Kelly called Lee an ‘honorable man’ in October 2017 and added that the war was caused by a ‘lack of compromise.’ Trump has previously defended the existence of statues for figures like Lee, saying that imposing modern morals on historical figures is a slippery slope that will devour many esteemed leaders in the process.”
–Brent D. Griffiths, “Trump praises Robert E. Lee during Ohio rally,” Politico, October 12, 2018 10:26 pm