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A descendant of Robert E. Lee said Saturday in a video tweet that he was "discouraged" to hear President Donald Trump praising the Confederate General, asserting that Trump supported an "idol of white supremacy and of hate ".
At a rally in Ohio on Friday, Trump praised Lee's military skills, calling him "a true great fighter and grand general," who has won victories against the Union – up to To his defeat to Ulysses S. Grant. The president only focused on Lee's military skills and greeted Grant in his home state, Ohio. But Trump's chief of staff, John F. Kelly, also called Lee an "honorable man".
"Last night, I was discouraged to hear our President, Donald Trump, comment on Robert E. Lee as a great general, as the honorable. These were far from the truth, "said Robert Lee IV, the great-great-great-great-grand-nephew of the general.
"Robert E. Lee has fought for continuous slavery of black bodies. It was for state rights, yes, but it was for the rights of the state to own slaves, "said Lee, an ordained minister.
Trump's comments made Lee "saddened by the state of our nation," he said. "But I am encouraged because we will work to end this," he added. "We will vote. We will show Donald Trump that white supremacy does not belong in … our government. We will show him who the people are and what really matters in our country. "
Lee also criticized his ancestor as an "idol of white supremacy, racism and hate" when he was invited to speak at the MTV Video Music Awards 2017 following the Charlottesville violence. He called racism "the original sin of America". He subsequently resigned from his pastorship of a church in North Carolina because of opposition speeches, the Washington Post reported at the time.
Trump previously supported the protection of Confederate statues commemorating leaders, including Lee, calling them "beautiful."
A few minutes before boasting Lee's military skills at the Ohio rally, Trumps asked blacks to vote Republican to "honor" the GOP.
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