On Thursday, crowds gathered in Richmond, Virginia to watch as the Robert E. Lee Monument—the nation’s largest confederate statue—was removed after more than 130 years of looming over the city. Onlookers cheered and celebrated the removal of the 12-ton reminder of America’s racist past (ok, and present), which Seth Meyers understands.
“Anyone who loves America should be watching this scene and celebrating along with the crowd. A monument to a traitor for an evil cause, the cause of slavery [and] white supremacy, and who tried to destroy the United States has finally been taken down. But you’ll never guess who had a slightly different take on things…”
That person, of course, was former president Donald Trump, who has a knack for vocalizing every idiotic thought and bad take that finds its way into his wee brain. When he randomly opted to share his thoughts (which no one asked for) about the removal of a statue that was essentially a celebration of slavery and white supremacy, he did not disappoint. As The Hill reported, Trump issued a statement in which he called the removal of the racist statue a “complete desecration.”
He went on:
“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! If only we had Robert E. Lee to command our troops in Afghanistan, that disaster would have ended in a complete and total victory many years ago. What an embarrassment we are suffering because we don’t have the genius of a Robert E. Lee!”
“What an embarrassment” are definitely three words that come to mind. Meyers, not for the first time, pointed out Trump’s total lack of knowledge of American history:
“Seriously, what do you mean it would have ended in victory if Lee was in charge? He lost! He’s famous for losing! But ah yes, if only Robert E. Lee had been in charge in Afghanistan then surely he would’ve said something inspirational like, ‘Is that a missile? All I have is a bayonet and I’m glued to my horse—get me out of here…’
Of course, I wouldn’t recommend taking history lessons from a guy who, among other things, praised Nazis, sowed an insurrection where rioters carried the Confederate flag, thought Frederick Douglass was still alive, didn’t know why the Civil War happened in the first place, and thought there were airports during the Revolutionary War.”
Don’t be surprised if that very same statue somehow finds its way to Mar-a-Lago.
You can watch the full segment above; the Trump chatter begins around the 6:25 mark.