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Trump: 'Robert E. Lee was a great general'
The Hill ^ | 10/12/18 | CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO

Posted on 10/12/2018 7:13:42 PM PDT by yesthatjallen

President Trump praised Confederate Geader Robert E. Lee as "a great general" on Friday during a campaign rally in Lebanon, Ohio.

"So Robert E. Lee was a great general. And Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia. He couldn’t beat Robert E. Lee," Trump said before launching into a monologue about Lee, Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

"He was going crazy. I don’t know if you know this story. But Robert E. Lee was winning battle after battle after battle. And Abraham Lincoln came home, he said, 'I can’t beat Robert E. Lee,'" Trump said.

"And he had all of his generals, they looked great, they were the top of their class at West Point. They were the greatest people. There’s only one problem — they didn’t know how the hell to win. They didn’t know how to fight. They didn’t know how," he continued.

Trump went on to say, multiple times, that Grant had a drinking problem, saying that the former president "knocked the hell out of everyone" as a Union general.

"Man was he a good general. And he’s finally being recognized as a great general," Trump added.

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 13, 2018 Trump has drawn criticism for his defense of Confederate statues, including those of Robert E. Lee.

He drew widespread condemnation last year following a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Va., saying that white nationalist protesters were there to oppose the removal of a "very, very important" statue.

"They were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee,” Trump said at the time. “This week it's Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

Trump, speaking at another rally in Ohio last year, said that he can be one of the “most presidential” presidents to hold office. "…With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office,” he said to a crowd in Youngstown.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: bloggers; civilwar; confederacy; dixie; donaldtrump; robertelee; trump
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Oh no he didn't!
1 posted on 10/12/2018 7:13:42 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

He was... any military historian will agree with that statement..


2 posted on 10/12/2018 7:14:50 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: yesthatjallen

Trump spoke the truth about RE Lee being a great general. RE Lee was also a fine man.


3 posted on 10/12/2018 7:15:48 PM PDT by laplata (The Left/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: laplata

Exactly.


4 posted on 10/12/2018 7:17:15 PM PDT by clintonh8r (Truth is hate speech to those who hate the truth.)
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To: laplata

Respect for your adversary’s ability, doesn’t mean you agree with their fighting position.

The clueless media won’t understand.


5 posted on 10/12/2018 7:20:23 PM PDT by Zeneta
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To: laplata

Lee was a fine man, and so was Grant. The left is trying to cut both of them down.


6 posted on 10/12/2018 7:20:31 PM PDT by livius
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To: clintonh8r
Lee was at the top of his game and gave up everything to defend the South.
7 posted on 10/12/2018 7:20:38 PM PDT by caltaxed
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To: HamiltonJay

Trump could always get the job of being America’s teaching historian...

The TV show would be better than The Apprentice.


8 posted on 10/12/2018 7:20:41 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: yesthatjallen

Trump is right. Lee was a great general. Grant learned the hard way how to be a greater one.


9 posted on 10/12/2018 7:20:55 PM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: yesthatjallen

We’re getting less than half a story here to make it look like he was defending the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee being a talented general and the reality that it was frustrating to President Lincoln and General Grant is simply a statement of historical fact.


10 posted on 10/12/2018 7:21:06 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: yesthatjallen

Hell F yeah he was one of the greatest. Long live the Confederacy!


11 posted on 10/12/2018 7:21:22 PM PDT by max americana (Fired libtard employees 9 consecutive times at every election since 08'. I hope all liberals die.)
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To: yesthatjallen

I always thought Lee was a fine General.

Rommel was a good generial. Giap was a good general.

Thinking Rommel was a good general does not make me a Nazi. Admiring the strategy of Mao or Giap doesn’t make me a commie. Appreciating the ruthlessness of Attila does not mean I want to burn down the next town over.

Some people need to think in thoughts a little deeper than spit on a hot sidewalk.


12 posted on 10/12/2018 7:21:25 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: BradyLS

Which seems to be the point of President Trump’s comments - but look at the headline.


13 posted on 10/12/2018 7:21:50 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: yesthatjallen

Obviously the word Context is not taught in Journalism School.

That being said, Robert E. Lee was one of the best General’s of his time. He was also a Man of Honor, another word not taught in Journalism School.


14 posted on 10/12/2018 7:22:10 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (THEY LIVE, and we're the only ones wearing the Sunglasses.)
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To: laplata

From what I’ve read, RE Lee was greatly troubled when deciding on which side to fight for.


15 posted on 10/12/2018 7:22:28 PM PDT by EarlyBird (There's a whole lot of winning going on around here!)
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To: yesthatjallen

Lee was a great general. His greatest mistake was Gettysburg’s.
Grant was relentless, and in my humble opinion, a greater General than Lee. We as Americans our fools if we deny our past and history, good or bad, politically correct or not. We as Americans must understand our past to move forward. Trump proves once again that he is politically incorrect, but wise. We are all Americans, except those who will not accept the Constitution and rule of law......or should I just have said Democrats.


16 posted on 10/12/2018 7:22:51 PM PDT by Pete Dovgan
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To: yesthatjallen
One of West Point's finest.

-PJ

17 posted on 10/12/2018 7:22:55 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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To: yesthatjallen

He was.

Of course, Trump’s point is he was comparing himself to Grant. Not a perfect guy, but he knows how to fight and win - and that’s the guy you want.

Of course the unethical lowlife media deliberately tries to make Trump’s remarks look like something else.

Lee was brilliant, and they’re still “Fake News”


18 posted on 10/12/2018 7:23:02 PM PDT by StoneRainbow68
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To: laplata

In university for a class (ROTC) I had to do a book report on some famous general’s of consequence. I remember there being many books that had both Lee and Grant in the title. I picked one of them - very fascinating people. It seems very hard to talk about one with out talking about the other.


19 posted on 10/12/2018 7:23:36 PM PDT by datricker (Cut Taxes Repeal ACA Deport DACA - Americans First, Build the Wall, Lock her up MAGA!)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Trumps gone fishing again. I think it’s his hobby to drive leftards crazy.


20 posted on 10/12/2018 7:23:38 PM PDT by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
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