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On Friday night in Ohio, President Donald Trump congratulated a famous Confederate General, calling him a "true great fighter and grand general" – the president's latest controversial statement on the Civil War. On Saturday, however, the collateral descendant of Robert E. Lee responded to Trump and called on the president for his support of "an idol of white supremacy and hatred".
The answer came less than a day later via a Twitter video from his great-great-great-great-grand-nephew Robert Lee IV, an ordained minister living in North Carolina. A collateral descendant means that he is not a direct descendant of the general but rather indirectly through one of his siblings. This is what Lee said:
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. Once again, the president lies and shows us his true colors. He shows us that he supports an idol of white supremacy and hate. Robert E. Lee fought for continued slavery of black bodies. It was for the rights of the state, yes, but it was for the rights of the state to own slaves.
On Friday, Trump recognized famous Ohians in a speech in Lebanon, Ohio. Among the people he spoke to was General Ulysses S. Grant, Union General during the American Civil War and from Ohio. But by introducing Grant, Trump praised another Confederation General from the Civil War: Lee.
"So Robert E. Lee was a great general and Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia, he could not beat Robert E. Lee," Trump told the crowd. "He was going crazy, I do not know if you know this story, but Robert E. Lee was winning battle after battle and Abraham Lincoln came home and he said," I can not beat Robert E. Lee. Trump went on to explain how Grant had beaten him and of course came from Ohio.
This is not the first time the President has been speaking with tenderness of Confederate generals. In the past, Trump lamented the destruction of the monuments of civil war. "Sad to see that the history and culture of our great country are torn apart by the removal of our magnificent statues and monuments", Trump tweeted in August 2017, only days after Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist in Charlottesville. "You can not change the story, but you can learn from it." Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who will be next, Washington, Jefferson "So stupid!"
This is not the first time Lee talks about the president. He was invited to speak at the MTV Video Music Awards 2017 after Heyer's death and the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. "Today, I appeal to all the privileged and the power to respond to God's call to tackle racism and white supremacy head-on," he said on the occasion, emphasizing the Black Lives Matter Movement and the March of Women.
In Saturday's video, Lee went on to say that he was "saddened by the state of our nation" but concluded on a positive note. "I am encouraged because we will work to end this," Lee said. "We are going to vote, we are going to show Donald Trump that white supremacy does not belong in any of our government's halls, we are going to show him who the people are and what really matters in our country."
Lee has encouraged participation in the mid-term elections, which will take place on November 6th.
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