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Donald Trump lavishes praise on 'genius' Confederate General Robert E. Lee as his statue is taken down
Robert E Lee was a "genius" who could have led America to victory in Afghanistan, Donald Trump has said.
The former POTUS did not withhold praise for the Confederate Civil War General, whose statue has been removed from Virginia's capital city on Wednesday, September 8.
Per Politico, Trump decried the decision by Virginia to remove the "magnificent" 12-ton, six-story bronze statue of the Confederate general, which was a centerpiece of protests over racial injustice.
"Just watched as a massive crane took down the magnificent and very famous statue of 'Robert E Lee On His Horse' in Richmond, Virginia. It has long been recognized as a beautiful piece of bronze sculpture," Trump said in a lengthy statement.
"To add insult to injury, those who support this ‘taking’ now plan to cut it into three pieces, and throw this work of art into storage prior to its complete desecration."
The statue's removal comes after symbols of the Confederacy across the country were targeted amid the Black Lives Matter protests last year, following the killing of George Floyd.
Such symbols were deemed racist, with founder of BLM RV Lawrence West telling CNN on Tuesday: "With the coming down of the monument it is also a part of coming down with those types of ideals. It brings some closure to the conversation, 'It's OK to be racist'."
The statue was removed at approximately 9 AM local time, as a surrounding crowd chanted "Black lives matter" and sung "Na, na, na, na! Hey, hey, hey! Goodbye!"
In his statement, Trump dubbed Lee as the "greatest strategist of them all".
"President Lincoln wanted him to command the North, in which case the war would have been over in one day. Robert E Lee instead chose the other side because of his great love of Virginia, and except for Gettysburg, would have won the war," he said.
"He should be remembered as perhaps the greatest unifying force after the war was over, ardent in his resolve to bring the North and South together through many means of reconciliation and imploring his soldiers to do their duty in becoming good citizens of this country."
He added: "Our culture is being destroyed and our history and heritage, both good and bad, are being extinguished by the Radical Left, and we can’t let that happen!"
Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announced plans to remove the statue in June 2020, 10 days after white Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, who was Black, sparking nationwide protests.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said whatever replaces the Lee statue should send the clear message that "Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy."
"We are a diverse, open and welcoming city, and our symbols need to reflect that reality," he added.