Donald Trump‘s willingness to make up history as he goes along remains an ongoing issue. Most recently, his tall tales have grown with his 9/11 fabrications, which have spanned several days of speeches and other Trump appearances. His motivations for these elaborations are unclear, other than his desire to keep pushing for a Muslim database.
However, Trump does not simply focus upon contemporary events. He’s also, as he told the New York Times, a “big history fan.” Trump is such a history buff that he’s inventing historical events. Some dutiful poking around by the NYT revealed a fake Civil War monument on Trump’s Lowes Island golf course in Virginia. He bought the place in 2009 and gave it some cred by erecting a monument to a nonexistent battle:
Between the 14th hole and the 15th tee of one of the club’s two courses, Mr. Trump installed a flagpole on a stone pedestal overlooking the Potomac, to which he affixed a plaque purportedly designating “The River of Blood.”
“Many great American soldiers, both of the North and South, died at this spot,” the inscription reads. “The casualties were so great that the water would turn red and thus became known as ‘The River of Blood.'” The inscription, beneath his family crest and above Mr. Trump’s full name, concludes: “It is my great honor to have preserved this important section of the Potomac River!”
Well, it’s hard to preserve a moment in history that never happened. This is the case, according to Richard Gillespie, a Virginia historical preservationist, who said, “No. Uh-uh. No way. Nothing like that ever happened there.” Gillespie noted that the only vaguely close battle to the golf course occurred 11 miles away (where the 1861 Battle of Ball’s Bluff happened). As such, Trump’s “The River of Blood” is completely made up and possibly used to entice future members of the club to sign up at $200,000 a pop.
The NYT has also put together an interactive list of lies from all the current presidential candidates, and it’s an illuminating read.
(Via New York Times)