On Thursday, President Trump continued hitting his talking point that removing Confederate statues and monuments from public spaces is a slippery slope. “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” he wrote. “You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!”
Maine governor Paul LePage, himself known for unfortunate and ahistorical utterances, jumped to the President’s defense, agreeing with Trump’s assessment that the white nationalist and counterprotesters in Charlottesville were “equally as bad” and “disgusting.” In a shift from the “what’s next?” hypotheticals a lot of right-wingers have been making, LePage instead equated removing Confederate statues to removing a monument for 9/11 victims. He also compared left-wing protesters to “the Taliban in Afghanistan” and continued:
“How can future generations learn if we’re going to erase history? That’s disgusting. They should study their history — they don’t even know the history of this country and they are trying to take monuments down. Listen, whether we like it or not, this is what our history is.
“To me, it’s just like going to New York City right now and taking down the monument of those who perished in 9/11. It will come to that.”
LePage also said he didn’t learn about the violence in Charlottesville until Tuesday because he doesn’t read newspapers or watch TV.
Similar to how there is always a Trump tweet that shows him to be acting hypocritically, Diane Russell, who is running as a Democrat to be Maine’s next governor, recalled a time when LePage removed art from a public space.
For a guy who doesn't like taking down monuments or erasing history, LePage was quick to pull down the Labor Mural.#OopsDidISayThatOutLoud
— Diane Russell 🌹 (@MissWrite) August 17, 2017
The Republican Party’s sure got its hands full right now.
(Via Washington Post)